EFL warned 60 of its clubs could go bust if fans are not allowed in grounds next season

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Huddersfield owner Phil Hodgkinson has warned as many as 60 EFL clubs could go bust if supporters are not allowed in stadiums next season.

It has still not yet been decided whether the Championship will finish the current campaign, while League Two clubs have voted for it to end and League One are set to follow suit.

But Hodgkinson is more concerned about next season, and the possibility of another full term behind closed doors.

The Terriers chief reckons it could see the English football pyramid decimated with dozens of clubs going to the wall.

“The problem is not whether we finish [this] season or not, it is what happens after that,” he told the BBC.

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Huddersfield owner Phil Hodgkinson (Image: PhotoEye.co.uk)

“If we don’t come to an agreement there will be no football pyramid. There are clubs I know of that are only still trading because they are deferring wages and [tax] and other creditors. They will need paying at some point.

“There is an absolutely real, stark probability that if something isn’t agreed now within football to ensure all clubs can pay their bills and get through to the point where income is resumed, you will be looking at 50 or 60 clubs ceasing to exist. Genuinely, I am talking about that many.”

Over 1,000 players and staff from the 24 Championship clubs were tested for coronavirus last week, with only two individuals - both from Hull City - returning positive tests.

Hull have been outspoken about a potential restart to this season and sit just one place above the relegation zone having failed to register a win in the league since New Year's Day.