Update on 2019-20 and 2020-21 County Cup Competitions
With the start of the 2020-21 season now upon us following a turbulent six months for all involved in grassroots football across Merseyside, Liverpool County FA is now in a position to provide an update on the County Cup programmes for both the incomplete 2019-20 competitions and 2020-21 County Cups.
It is with the deepest regret that Liverpool County FA can confirm that, following the latest meeting of our Cup and Competitions Committee, our outstanding 2019-20 cup finals will not be played.
We fully understand that this decision will come as a huge disappointment for all teams that reached their respective finals. The past six months have brought unprecedented challenges for everybody across the grassroots game – and Liverpool County FA has worked hard to plan for the 2020-21 season whilst looking to accommodate the 2019-20 finals.
However, as much as the committee worked hard to do so, it hasn’t been possible to schedule 18 County Cup finals into what promises to be another challenging season.
With that in mind, the Cup and Competitions Committee has also taken the difficult decision to put all open-age County Cup competitions on hold for 2020-21.
This decision has been made to allow all leagues and teams within them to have the best possible chance of completing their full fixture schedules.
As an Association, we need to consider the potential for a second spike in COVID-19 and the possibility of localised lockdowns. It is not unreasonable to assume that the new season is going to face interruptions – and clubs and leagues will need to overcome many challenges to complete league fixtures. It was felt that the added pressure of a county cup programme would make this even more challenging, particularly if there is fixture congestion.
Free entry into all open-age County Cup competitions will roll over into the 2021-22 season.
Liverpool County FA would like to confirm that youth County Cup competitions at Under-13, Under-16 and Under-18 age groups WILL still take place, in addition to girls’ Under-14 and Under-16 competitions.
For any enquiries or questions relating to this update, please email david.pugh@liverpoolfa.com