The vote is in: The PDFL declare their League season is over, but cup competitions will take place

Member clubs have accepted a recommendation from the Peterborough & District Football League that the competition is declared null and void for the 2020-21 season.
Cup Final action at the Nene Valley Community Centre in 2018.Cup Final action at the Nene Valley Community Centre in 2018.
Cup Final action at the Nene Valley Community Centre in 2018.

Cup competitions will instead now take place once grassroots football is permitted to resume from March 29.

The proposal to abandon the League was passed 41-13 with two absentions and one request for an Emergency General Meeting (EGM). Five requests for an EGM are required for one to take place.

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The League now intend to organise three or four cup competitions based on league status.

They will consist of group matches and then knockout stages with finals likely to take place at PDFL headquarters on Candy Street.

A full itinary is expected before the weekend. It’s thought clubs will be given a fortnight to prepare with the cups eventually kicking off from Saturday, April 10.

It’s been a tortuous process to get this far with two previous votes indictaing 1) a preference for null and void over completing the league season and then 2) a preference for the league carrying on rather than holding cup competitions.

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But Steve Quinney, chairman of leading club Netherton United, supports the PDFL clubs’ decision. He said: “Declaring the current league season null and void was the right decision. Teams hadn’t played enough games to justify promotions and relegations so well-run cup competitions seem to me to be a good idea.

“There would need to be a senior, intermediate and junior cup and it should be run like a Champions League with group stages before knockout rounds to ensure every teams gets plenty of games.

“The League gets plenty of stick, but I believe they have done a great job in very difficult circumstances. With votes going 55-45% recently they were always going to annoy about half their membership so they had an impossible job.”