The EFL have confirmed that all football activity set to take place this weekend and until 3rd April will be postponed due to the coronavirus.

A statement reads: “In light of overnight developments, the EFL board has met this morning to discuss the ever-changing circumstances posed by the spread of the COVID-19 [coronavirus] outbreak.

“Having considered the increased number of cases affecting club players and staff, the board were unanimous in their approach and it has been determined that all football activity scheduled to take place this weekend and until 3rd April 2020 will be postponed.

“For the avoidance of any doubt this includes all matches in the Championship, League One and League Two, as well as all academy and youth team fixtures and will take us beyond the next international round.

“The arrangement of training programmes for professional players in the interim period remains a matter for each individual club and we advise all academy training is suspended until 3rd April 2020.

Please note - Tickets will remain valid for the re-scheduled event, however should you wish to obtain a refund on any of the postponed games then please return your tickets for a full refund. https://t.co/kufTmDAIc0– Ipswich Town FC Tickets (@ITFC_Tickets) March 13, 2020

“In addition to this the League instructs all clubs to suspend indefinitely all non-essential business which include, but are not limited to, player appearances, commercial activities training ground visits and fan meetings.”

Town's League One game at Bristol Rovers scheduled for Saturday is the first to be postponed and the suspension covers the subsequent home match with Portsmouth, while the Blues aren't in action the following weekend anyway as they were set to face now-expelled Bury.

The Premier League, Barclays FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship have also been suspended for the same period.

The move sees the EFL and the other football authorities go beyond the Government's advice.

"Whilst the EFL board has continued to take the advice and guidance offered by the Government and its health advisors, emerging developments mean now is the time to implement football’s contingency plans in response to the crisis," the EFL added.

"A further update on these plans will be given post an EFL board meeting next week.

"This decision has not been taken lightly, but the EFL must prioritise the health and well-being of players, staff and supporters while also acknowledging the Government’s national efforts in tackling this outbreak."

Photo: TWTD

alfromcol added 14:10 - Mar 13 A whole new world for the lawyers to get stuck in, if the football authorities decide not to finish the season and decide to promote/relegate teams on a reduced number of games.
2

runningout added 14:24 - Mar 13 from a selfish point of view it will be good to consider this season Null and void. Been a total nightmare
1

philpott2 added 14:32 - Mar 13 That should please the wife..... Far less chance of having two teenage oys and husband bloody grumpy, again!!
1

VanDusen added 15:12 - Mar 13 @orroman. Seriously? So the fact that we've got four of the bottom six as our final home games wouldn't make a difference to where we'd be now if the games we missed had instead been Rotherham, Peterborough, Coventry and Oxford? Not possible. And that's just our case when I agree we're highly unlikely to make the play offs. But imagine you're Sunderland who just slipped out the play offs on Tuesday. The reality is we're being softened up as this is going to last a long time. I expect no football until at least the autumn. By that time tho I also expect a Darwinian effect in the lower leagues with clubs going to the wall left right and centre. Maybe even us?!...

1

therein61 added 16:33 - Mar 13 Basically the only thing to do with the rate this virus is spreading just hope that we show some fight after the break.
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TractorBoy1935 added 16:48 - Mar 13 I fully back the decision to postpone the league until 4th April, quite frankly I expected this and the right thing to do. Hopefully we have a couple of our injured lads back ready to play for whatever points we may get before the season close. I do see a couple of games where ideally we should win, but as shown this season that we must not be complacent and disrespect the opposition. Need to adopt a winning formation preferably one that is attacking so either a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 will be more efficient than what are experimenting with now.

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Bergholtblue added 17:39 - Mar 13 They were saying on TV that the peak for virus cases is expected end of April/early May. If this is the case, I cant see the Leagues starting up again on 4 April
3

jas0999 added 17:39 - Mar 13 Difficult and worrying times. Good decision to postpone for a few weeks.
1

LWNR2013 added 17:55 - Mar 13 I wash my hands of the lot of them.
2

LWNR2013 added 17:57 - Mar 13 Seriously, I think it's going to be a long haul.
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therein61 added 18:04 - Mar 13 Yep i think the season is done worrying times as the forecast is virus will not peak until mid June hope all your families are safe and continue to be guys.
3

BlueParadigm added 18:58 - Mar 13 This is clearly the right decision and shows leadership from the Premier League and EFL. However, many EFL clubs are going to face significant financial challenges due to cash flow problems over next month. This is where ITFC are fortunate in having someone like ME to bankroll the wage bill and other costs throughout the year whatever is happening on and off the pitch

4

timetraveler added 19:10 - Mar 13 I decided On Tuesday that I wouldn't attend any more matches because of the risks. So not a problem for me. It will be very interesting how they sort out promotion and relegation. I do think many clubs will suffer financially so fingers crossed town keep hoing
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Pecker added 19:55 - Mar 13 Hopefully this season will be deleted from the records and we can start afresh next season.
2

benfromkent added 07:40 - Mar 14 I'm so annoyed about this, I've flown in from China via Italy to watch them as well!
1

brittaniaman added 09:42 - Mar 14 benfromkent !! I expect you walked through the customs and authorities at Heathrow without being Checked either ??
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ArnieM added 09:45 - Mar 14 Assuming to two postponed games in this period of affected games will be tagged onto the end of the season, means Towns last fixture will be Pompey at home then ?
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dirtydingusmagee added 10:55 - Mar 14 IMO level games behind closed doors , no promotion or relegation, but top team declared Champions . This virus isnt going away anytime soon, even start of next season could be a problem. Some clubs are not going to survive , Stay safe, good luck, and hope for the best, UP THE TOWN .
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