The statement comes after the U.K. government confirmed that England will go back into lockdown from Thursday as the nation continues to battle against the Covid-19 outbreak which had already put paid to the Saddlers' 2019/20 campaign.
Released via the EFL's official website, the statement reads; The EFL notes the difficult decision taken by the Government in respect of the implementation of a ‘national lockdown’ in England from Thursday 5 November 2020 in response to the rising cases of COVID-19.
During this next phase it has been confirmed to the League by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that elite sport will be able to continue and EFL competitions will therefore remain as currently scheduled (in both England and Wales).
Professional football has implemented some of the most stringent, robust and regularly reviewed protocols since the restart in June 2020 and our medical experts’ advice remains in place to fully adhere to these measures which are specifically designed to mitigate against the spread of the virus.
The health, safety and well-being of players and Club staff throughout the pandemic has been our first priority and this will continue as we enter this next period of lockdown and beyond.
In addition, we acknowledge the Government’s national efforts in tackling this outbreak and would hope that during this next phase of the crisis, our national sport, negatively affected by COVID-19 like many other industries, can continue to provide some form of welcome distraction and give people in our communities up and down the country a sense of normality in very challenging times.