Hatters CEO doesn't think football can survive if 2020-21 season is played behind closed doors

Hatters chief executive Gary Sweet doesn't believe football in general, let alone Luton Town, could survive playing the entire 2020-21 season behind closed doors.

Should the current campaign for Premier League and Championship clubs restart next month, it will do so in front empty stadiums due to the lockdown measures currently enforced by the government due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A report on Sky Sports stated that top flight clubs are now having to consider the impact of that continuing for the following season, if a successful vaccine for the virus isn't found.

However, Sweet doesn't think that the game would come through such a period, as he said: "We are going to struggle with that.

"We’re hopeful that games will be played with a crowd before that, but completely understanding if that’s not going to be the case.

"Football can’t survive going a year without supporters, this is a problem and a challenge for the game, not just Luton Town.

“The fact that everybody’s in the same boat, but everybody is saying football is not going to survive if it goes as whole year without supporters.

"So all we are doing at the moment is try to make some contingency plans to how we could potentially survive through to that period and we don’t have those answers yet."

In a recent letter to the FA Council by FA chairman Greg Clarke confirmed his fears that fans will not be returning to stadiums in the near future.

He wrote: "The reality is that we just don't know how things are going to pan out.

"But with social distancing in place for some time to come we do face substantial changes to the whole football ecosystem.

"For example it's hard to foresee crowds of fans - who are the lifeblood of the game - returning to matches any time soon."