Honorary Secretary of the Kilkenny & District League Tom Mullins has revealed that the league will not return until April.
Speaking to KCLR’s Saturday Scoreline, Mullins admitted that the chances of finishing the 2020/21 league campaigns are slim. However, he refused to rule out the possibility of the cup competitions being completed.
“There’s nothing going to happen until the end of April, and we’ll see if we can finish the leagues. We have options to get the cups played in May and June.”
A member of the KDL Executive, Mullins also outlined a possible schedule for the remainder of the year for soccer in Kilkenny.
“We’ll miss out on July and then come back in August and get the new season started.
“Hopefully, between now and the end of the year we’ll get some games completed.”
Mullins highlighted the issues that clubs are facing as a result of the pandemic. He believes that a particular focus for any potential future funding should be on clubs who are struggling financially due to income streams that have become non-existent.
“The expenses remain the same around insurance for all clubs but there’s no income in the form of membership, fundraisers or golf events. I would say that not having soccer has had a mental impact on people obviously, but it has also had a major impact on clubs financially. These clubs need help.”
Despite the overriding negative news for local soccer at the moment due to the inactivity caused by the pandemic, Mullins is optimistic about how strong a position the grassroots game will be in come the end of Covid-19 restrictions.
“There’s a feeling from the FAI and everybody involved that there will be a much bigger participation in the sport, particularly amongst schoolboys and schoolgirls who will be desperate to come back.
“Once the pandemic is over, I think that we’ll have huge numbers playing in Kilkenny.”
