EFL pledge to finish season
West Brom's hopes of securing a place in the Premier League were boosted after the EFL declared its primary aim is to see the 2019/20 season concluded.
But attention will now immediately shift to today's meeting of Premier League officials who also plan to discuss the fate of the current campaign and beyond.
At a meeting of the EFL board, Albion stressed that the current season must be completed.
They also said they would be willing to play their remaining Championship games behind closed doors if necessary.
Professional football in England is currently suspended until April 3 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It seems highly unlikely football will return on that date.
But when asked how realistic it was that the current season will finish, EFL chairman Rick Parry said: “We believe it’s realistic.
“In fact, we believe it’s essential because we want to finish competitively, we want the right decisions to be taken on the pitch – quite frankly, we believe it’s more important to finish this season than to talk about next season.”
Albion have just nine league games of the Championship season left to play and have sat in the automatic promotion slots for the vast majority of the campaign.
But today’s meeting of the Premier League also has the potential to impact their future.
Top-flight officials have the right to make alterations to their division as they see fit and could decide to declare the season null and void and try to restart with the same 20 teams in August.
That, though, would open up a legal minefield with the Baggies and a host of other clubs having already confirmed they will launch a legal challenge if they miss out on promotion.
