HIGHWORTH Town chairman Rohan Haines is confident his club won’t hit any buffers in the short-term due to sport’s coronavirus suspension.

With football shut down across the country, many non-league clubs have feared the financial consequences of missing out on valuable matchday revenue.

The Southern League campaign was postponed initially up to and including this Saturday’s games, though with the Premier League and EFL off until at least April 30 and the outbreak growing at a rapid rate across the country, that may well change sooner rather than later.

On the back of repeated storms during February and early March, the additional covid-19 postponement to the Worthians’ Division 1 South campaign mean they have only played four games at The Elms in 2020.

Their last came on February 12 and six are yet to be completed.

Though there may be a handful of non-essential cuts for now at Highworth, Haines is not overly worried with the state of play in the near future.

“If we’re talking a couple or three months then there’s no major concern on that aspect,” he said.

“We have cancelled the Sky and your BT because there’s no point having it. The bar may be shut if the government states that bars will be closed, so we’ll have no clients coming in.

“With no games, again that may go on further. We’ve not played at home since the middle of February. With our first team at home we usually get on average 150 or 180 people.

“We’ve got no revenue coming in on that side of it, and obviously no revenue coming in the bar through having no games.

“But we should be okay on the short-term basis. If we’re talking six months, 12 months that might be a different kettle of fish.”

One of Worthians’ bigger sources of income is their annual six-a-side tournament, which this year is scheduled for June 5-7.

Last year a record 332 teams entered across a range of age groups, and this year’s extravaganza was set to add walking football and matches for two veterans age ranges.

With tournament entry fees backed up by side stalls, food and refreshments, the long weekend is a boon for the club, who are keeping an eye on the evolving situation before making a final decision.

“Our main concern is the tournament we hold in June, which is our main fundraiser,” the Worthians chairman said.

“Again, hopefully if the Premiership and the EFL are looking to be playing in June then that shouldn’t be a problem.

“The income varies on how many teams enter. We made about £15,000 last year which is a big chunk of our running costs towards the club.”