Ice hockey faces decision day over 2020-21 EIHL season

Fife Flyers’ fans could find out if the 2020-21 ice hockey season will go ahead in the next few weeks.

The EIHL is set to make a final decision at a meeting on September 15.

The UK-wide, ten-team league has already shelved its traditional September face-off, pushing it back to December, but many within the sport fear it may not start.

Todd Kelman, MD of Cardiff Devils tweeted last night that D-Day is close, with a board meeting slated for just over two weeks the key to the sport’s immediate future.

Taking over the club’s social media platform to answer fans’ questions, he said the league had the support of MPs in every town with a club - including Neale Hanvey, MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath - but added: “We are still at the mercy of Government policy on indoor events with crowds.”

He stressed: “We cannot play in a bubble. We cannot play with 200 or 500 spectators unless we had massive financial support from the Government.

“Even at 50 per cent capacity, unless there was a realistic timeline to quickly get to 100 per cent, teams would struggle to make it work.”

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His comments were the clearest insight yet into the major challenges facing the league as it tries to rescue the forthcoming campaign as the country emerges from lockdown.

The EIHL saw the climax of last season wiped out by the pandemic, with the play-offs and championship finals weekend all scrapped.

Since then, the member clubs have been working on getting the 202-21 campaign up and running.

Weekly online conference calls have taken place to assess the changes to Government restrictions, but concerns over limits on spectators allowed at sports events remain a major issue, and the sport also has to work across all four devolved administrations.

Kelman’s’ tweets were the clearest indication yet that crunch time is coming.

The sport has said it needs two months to get everything in place to run the season, and the clock is ticking.

The Cardiff MD said: “The Elite League Board have been working closely together since March on getting the 2020-21 season going.

"We have weekly zoom calls that all 10 teams are involved in. The vital date right now is Sept 15th when we will likely have to make a decision on the 2020-21 season.”

The announcement came hot on the heels of the Welsh side also telling its players they were free to pursue other options even if it meant leaving the club.

Team captain Joey Martin has signed for a club in Norway - a move Devils attributed directly to the pandemic.

Flyers have seen no fewer than five players from last season’s roster depart the UK to play across Europe.

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