Wait goes on for Highland clubs as other leagues get go-ahead to resume
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Wick Academy manager Gary Manson believes there is little chance of the Highland League restarting while there is still a requirement for Covid-19 testing because of the costs that clubs would incur.
More senior levels of football will be able to resume with immediate effect, following an announcement this week by the First Minister, but there is no return date yet for the Highland League teams.
Leagues One and Two of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), along with the Scottish Women’s Premier League 1, can return by following the current SPFL Premiership and Championship protocols – including a requirement to undertake PCR testing once per week.
Scottish Women’s Football Premier League 2, the Highland League, Lowland League, the East, West and South of Scotland Leagues, the Scottish Junior FA and the North Caledonian League all remain under temporary suspension.
Manson said: "We're no clearer as to when, or if, the Highland League season will resume.
"It's great to see the Women's Premier League 1 and SPFL Leagues One and Two starting again, but while there is still a requirement for testing I can't see the Highland League returning, unfortunately, as the costs are so high.
"So it's as you were for now and we'll await further direction from the Scottish FA."
The governing body says the return of the Highland League and others will be reviewed in line with the Scottish Government’s road map out of the Covid-19 crisis.
The SFA said in a statement: "We will continue to liaise with representatives of those leagues in the coming weeks to establish appropriate return-to-football protocols."
One Highland League chairman warned last month that PCR testing costs would “just cripple clubs”.
Nairn County’s Donald Matheson said his club would be able to afford testing costs in order to compete in the Scottish Cup but he doubted whether it would be sustainable across the league generally. “Testing is something bigger clubs can afford, but in the Highland League it is not economically viable," he said.
The shortened Highland League season kicked off at the end of November with a 15-game fixture list. Wick Academy are among nine teams who have played only two league games. Some have managed three matches, with one club – Strathspey Thistle – yet to play at all.
The Scottish Cup has also been given approval to resume, with all clubs in the tournament able to participate subject to compliance with PCR testing requirements. Revised cup-tie dates will be announced soon.
The SPFL and Scottish Women's Football will get updated league fixture schedules.
SFA president Rod Petrie vowed that the Highland League will return "as soon as it is safe to do so".
Welcoming this week's announcement by Nicola Sturgeon, he said: “We are pleased that the First Minister has again recognised the importance of football in Scotland.
"The decision to temporarily suspend parts of the professional game played by predominantly part-time teams was not an easy one to take. Nonetheless, given the sharp rise in infection rates caused by new strains of the virus at the start of the year, it was the right thing to do to assist the national effort to reduce its prevalence during lockdown.
“The preparatory work undertaken with representatives of affected leagues and their commitment to the inclusion of weekly PCR testing has given ministers the confidence to permit the return of SWPL 1 and SPFL League One and Two.
“While we are pleased to see the return of these leagues, there remain significant numbers unable to return to play, including the remaining levels of the professional pyramid, elite youth football, club youth football and our amateur and grassroots clubs across both the male and female game.
“We are acutely aware of the desire within those levels of football to return to playing football and we will continue to work with the Scottish Government to ensure they are able to as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Mairi Gougeon, Scotland's minister for public health and sport, said: “We are aware of the importance of football, at all levels, to many people in Scotland and I’m happy that we have been able to work closely with the SFA to allow the resumption of some further football activity – starting with SPFL Leagues 1 and 2, SWPL1 and clubs still in this season’s Scottish Cup.
“This could only happen alongside enhanced measures to keep everyone safe, including mandatory weekly Covid PCR tests for all players and staff. We continue to discuss with the Scottish FA and other stakeholders to ensure football at all levels can resume as soon as it is safe to do so.”
