Football could be played behind closed for up to 18 months, medical experts have revealed.
All Championship games have been postponed until further notice by the EFL due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with no clear indication as to when, or if, the season will continue until its climax.
Due to the number of increasing cases in the UK, it is looking less likely that we will see any action on our shores anytime soon.
Before the campaign was brought to a halt, Forest were in the race for automatic promotion as we sit fifth in the standings, 10 points behind West Brom and five points ahead of Bristol City outside the Play-off places.
With nine league games still to play, we have the chance of reaching the promised land of the Premier League for the first time in 21 years.
Dr Zach Binney, who is an epidemiologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, believes that fans will not be allowed to enter stadiums until a vaccine is found to fight the illness.
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“The thing that people need to understand, epidemiologically speaking, is that every person you add to a gathering adds risk,” he told The Times. “Five people is more dangerous than two, ten is more dangerous than five, 500 is more dangerous than ten, 60,000 is very, very dangerous.
“As a scientist, I hate to say I am ever 100% sure about anything but I am as close to 100% as I’ve ever been that we cannot return to filled-to-capacity stadia until we have a vaccine. Period.
“The best guess is about 18 months, could be a little more, could be a little less.”
The City Ground currently has a capacity of 30,445, with plans to extend the Peter Taylor Stand put on hold due to delays in the planning process.
This would be a disaster for us as a club financially. Not only will we not be making any matchday revenue, but also it could have a detrimental effect on our summer transfer plans, taking into consideration our last set of financial results.
Let’s hope that this isn’t the case. As important as it is to look after the health and safety of everyone concerned, the club could find themselves in their own monetary crisis unless support is offered.
