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In a statement addressed to all leagues clubs, players and officials, it confirmed the start of the season will be delayed until 29 August. “The rationale behind this decision is to protect the welfare of players, officials and all associated with the match day, in what has been the driest and hottest July since records began in 1836,” the league chair, Dale Brown, said in the statement. “Most of our league clubs pitches are grass and the ground conditions are extremely dry and pitches rock hard.” Get the day’s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning Brown added: “This was a very difficult decision to reach and one that will not please all clubs.” The league’s decision comes after a series of record-breaking heat waves and exceptionally low rainfall have left much of England and Wales visibly parched and the ground as hard as concrete.
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