THE Northern League could be declared null and void for the second successive season depending on the results of an FA survey.

No games have been played in the league since November 4, and with a good chance of the latest lockdown lasting until March, there is no chance of a full 38-game season being completed by the end of May. Clubs were less than a third of the way through their fixtures when lockdown came.

Mark Frost, of the FA Leagues Committee, has informed the Northern League that the FA will be sending out surveys to discover the views of clubs, but the expectation is that the season will be ended prematurely again.

“It is apparent to us all, that with the current restrictions in place any resumption of the National League System in a manner that provides the clubs with safety coupled with the ability to admit supporters and to have secondary spend, means that completing the 2020-2021 season is becoming increasingly doubtful,” he said.

“We will be issuing a survey for clubs to complete that will give us the information that we can consider to assist us making our recommendation to FA Council as to how we conclude the season. To be clear, within the survey we are not asking the clubs to vote on any specific decision, we are simply using the survey to gather the views of the clubs.”

The survey will also be sent to clubs in the Northern Premier League, where Marske and Dunston play. It won’t go to clubs in the National League, who are classed as elite.

The news will be a blow to clubs like Stockton Town, who were set to win the league last season and are amongst the contenders again this season.

However, there are various suggestions being made to complete some sort of meaningful season so promotion and relegation can take place.

One is to consolidate the playing records of these two cancelled seasons, and work out a league table; another is to extend the season until at least June so then a certain number of fixtures can be played; another is to wait until lockdown has ended and hold mini leagues with play offs.

If the season is declared null and void, then it’s unlikely that the Buildbase FA Vase will continue.