The 2020/2021 youth football season and the non professional competitions have been very affected by the pandemic.
The extension of the restrictions by the Catalan government has forced the Catalan Football Federation to not be able to initiate the non professional leagues. Until now the situation has been taken with ease, but not without skepticism, more like acceptance.
But not comes another polemic situation hitting the clubs hard. Especially the ones in the Catalan First Division. Because they aren’t allowed to compete, more and more players are abandoning their teams for the clubs in the Tercera Nacional, the fourth tier of Spanish football which is organized by the Spanish FA and therefore considered a professional league.
From the point of view of the players it’s understandable that the players change clubs to get some playing time while the clubs in the regional competitions organized by the FCF end up with empty squads. Besides, no club in the right state of mind would tell a player not to leave out of respect for one another and the situation. This is why the clubs end up hurt, suffering because of «maybe» they will be able to train normally from the 8th of February, and so on, two weeks later be able to start the so awaited season. But in all honesty, with the facts in hand, it’s very likely that it won’t
But let’s say that the league will start in the end of February, the clubs won’t just find themselves with a record short preseason, but also a shortage of players on their squads due to a situation out of their control. And then we only talk about the clubs who actually survive. They are the ones who will lose out, and in spite of everything, no one can blame the players for leaving. In the end everyone has to look our for their own no matter the consequences.
