Dozens of non-league fixtures postponed due to fuel shortage

Several matches on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Isthmian League, Southern League and the Southern Combination Football League have been called off.

Pa Sport Staff
Monday 27 September 2021 20:30 BST
Fuel shortages have led to the postponement of several non-league matches (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Fuel shortages have led to the postponement of several non-league matches (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Dozens of non-league fixtures have been postponed due to fuel shortages which are affecting the nation.

Several fixtures scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in the Isthmian League and Southern League, both of which cover parts of southern England in the tier below the National League have been called off.

Further down the pyramid, the entire programme in the Southern Combination Football League has been postponed.

A shortage of HGV drivers has been blamed for fuel supply problems which have led to long queues outside petrol stations, many of which have been forced to close as supplies run out.

A number of leagues have responded to the issue by permitting clubs to postpone fixtures if they have concerns over travel.

Though many clubs were quick to take up the option, others responded with frustration that games had been called off at short notice.

Bognor Regis Town said they had wanted their fixture against Leatherhead to go ahead but the Tanners chose to postpone.

Bognor Regis general manager Simon Cook said on the club’s website: “It’s incredibly frustrating because it’s not the longest drive at around an hour and 20 minutes but once the league gave clubs the option to call off games then I suppose we could have predicted that some would do exactly that.

“The ironic thing is that we are still planning to travel to Leatherhead on Thursday for the young Rocks’ FA Youth Cup tie – and currently if we were to pull out of the game we would forfeit the game.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in