Cobblers must wait to discover start date for 2020/21 League One campaign

Cobblers must wait until the end of next week at the earliest to discover when their 2020/21 Sky Bet League One campaign will kick-off.

Clubs across the EFL were hopeful that a restart date would be established this week - and some meetings had been scheduled to take place - however, Peterborough United director of football Barry Fry has since revealed that there will be a further delay.

That will frustrate the 24 League One outfits as they look to put pre-season and recruitment plans in place ahead of the new season.

According to Fry, the EFL are still in talks with the Premier League and the FA about when to start next season, with clubs expected to vote on either August 29 or September 12. The latter remains the more likely option, and if that is the case, the first round of the Carabao Cup could be held the week before.

“It’s incredibly frustrating," said Fry. "But we’ve now been told we won’t hear anything about a start date until July 24. The Premier League and the FA are still talking with the EFL about cups and all sorts.

“It’s driving our manager Darren Ferguson up the wall as he can’t plan properly for next season. It can’t start any later than September 12 or we’ll never get the fixtures in. If we start on September 12 it will be six months between competitive matches for us.”