The season is over for Banbury United

The gates at the Banbury Plant Hire Community Stadium will remain locked after the season was cancelled

The BetVictor Southern League will not resume following the suspension of all matches on the back of the coronavirus outbreak.

This will mean that there will be no promotion or relegation of Clubs between Steps 3 to 6, or relegation from Step 2.

It also means subject to any clubs becoming defunct between now and the start of season 2020/21 then the new season will see the Southern League Premier Central start with the same teams that began season 2019/20

The Southern League issued the following statement on Thursday: 'The FA and Leagues at Steps 3 to 6 have reached a consensus that the 2019/20 season for Steps 3 to 6 will be ended with immediate effect and all results will be expunged.

'This will mean that there will be no promotion or relegation of Clubs between Steps 3 to 6, or relegation from Step 2. In light of the above, these decisions will also apply to the Leagues and Clubs at Step 7 of the National League System.

'The FA will continue to assist and support the National League (Steps 1 and 2 of the NLS) to determine the outcome of the 2019/20 season.

'Consideration was given as to whether the season could be extended indefinitely, or to some later date in the future in order for it to be completed. However, given the current uncertainty regarding when it will be possible to resume competitive football in England, and the fact that many clubs and contracted players want certainty over when football will resume, this option is likely to present great difficulties for football between Steps 3 to 6.

'On the basis that the season is ended now, consideration was given as to whether a mechanism should be used to calculate final league tables and preserve promotion and relegation between Steps 3 to 6. Whilst inevitably some clubs will favour this option and the merits of this option have been fully considered by The FA and the leagues, it has been decided that this is not the best option to serve the particular needs of Steps 3 to 6 of the NLS.

'The planned implementation of the restructure of the NLS will be deferred until the start of the 2021/22 season. The decisions reached by the NLS leagues will be recommended to the FA Board and FA Council for final ratification.'