March, Wisbech and Wisbech St Mary games called off

Wisbech Town will not resume league action until January 9 at the earliest, with even this date looking in jeopardy.

And with many other teams calling off games because of Covid-19, it is looking increasingly likely that the Northern Premier League South East Division will once again not be completed.

The situation appears to be different at the moment in the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League Division One North, where March Town and Wisbech St Mary play. All clubs in that division are currently in Tiers 2 and 3 where football with fans can go ahead, but the match between the two at the GER on Bank Holiday Monday has just been called off.

Further to Wisbech's statement on Thursday saying they did not want to play their Boxing Day and New Year's Day fixtures, the Northern Premier League released a statement on Friday evening.

Within the statement they stated it is now only optional for clubs to play their games over the festive period. The Fenmen have subsequently informed Spalding United and Stamford AFC of their decision not to play those fixtures. Stamford have subsequently announced they have positive Covid-19 cases in their camp anyway.

This would mean the first league game since the second coronavirus lockdown could be Chasetown away on Saturday, January 9. However, Staffordshire is currently in Tier 3 and both the local county council and police in Staffordshire have advised clubs in that area they are not legally allowed to have spectators so it looks unlikely at this stage that this game will be on.

An added complication is a number of Wisbech players and management live in Tier 4 areas. All non-elite adult football – including training – in T4 areas is prohibited and travel out of those areas is not permitted. It is unclear at this time what impact this will have on the club in the post-Christmas period.

Wisbech have not played a competitive game since Saturday, October 24.