North West Sutherland League faces cancellation due to coronavirus pandemic
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Amateur football clubs face a wait to find out if the North-West Sutherland League can go ahead this season.
The North West Sutherland Amateur Football Association (NWSAFA) have set a deadline of Saturday, June 13 to decide if any league matches will be able to take place in 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic has cancelled all football in Scotland since March 13, with a scheduled restart date of June 10.
Amateur leagues in Caithness and Inverness have announced they may have to cancel their season if it can't start by the summer.
NWSAFA secretary Hugh Morrison admits the 13 clubs in the league, based in Sutherland and Ross-shire, are looking at the same fate.
"As we have two divisions we need to start in June to get the season finished by September so it avoids clashing with the North Caledonian League," he said.
"We are looking at having a last starting date of the second Saturday in June.
"If we can't get it finished, then we won't start it as there is no point.
"It might be a case where we will only be able to play cup competitions this season.
"But it is entirely out of our hands as we do not know when we will be able to get started.
"It is a question of waiting and see, which is the situation for all amateur football in Scotland."
League matches take place on a Saturday and due to the geography of the division which stretches from Lochinver and Scourie on the north-west coast and Melvich on the north coast to Invergordon and Tain in Ross-shire, Morrison says playing game during midweek is out of the question.
"We can't play every game during midweek because of the distances some teams have to travel," he said.
"It could be possible for some teams in the division, but it definitely is impossible for other teams to do.
"We might face a year of doing nothing at all."
