The uncertainty surrounding next season
As much as I've tried to weigh up the reasons both for and against the possibility of a 2020/21 EIHL season, I just can't see it happening with the ongoing coronavirus situation. It seems to me like there's simply too many factors affecting it that can't be ignored or combated at all. For a league that I feel has made a tone of progress in recent seasons, this will be a massive setback, possibly one not seen since the dramatic collapse of the BISL in 2002/03 which led to the formation of today's British top flight. It's common knowledge that gate money is the main source of revenue for clubs, and without that, running the league just wouldn't be functional if we were to have games behind closed doors. British hockey absolutely needs crowds. This isn't like football, where teams continue to make obscene amounts through TV money, sponsorship and even merchandise in a sport which is a true global phenomena that hockey in this country will not come remotely