PROJECT RESTART is becoming football’s Great Escape.

After months of rumination, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters revealed the date of June 17 for the return.

After the awful spectre of 12 positive tests out of 3,882, players appear to have been press-ganged into playing again.

Masters is leading the charge, just like Steve McQueen did.

Players have deigned to return after contributing nothing to the financial challenges created by their salaries, with some even refusing to attend non-contact training, breaking curfews more times than Dominic Cummings and at times dismissing the nation’s morale.

Football is back primarily to protect itself against broadcaster reclaims.

Initially behind closed doors, it will soon be emblazoned across our TV screens and no doubt resplendent with more multi-million-pound transfers to remind everyone how little it has learned — or really cares.

The nation’s morale is now lifted, except maybe if you support one of the 71 clubs outside the Premier League.

If you are one of around 500,000 people who go to watch Football League matches, then your morale is not so important.

The devaluation and race to the bottom for the Football League continues. And the debate among EFL clubs rages on.

The Championship is ploughing on due to its proximity to the Premier League.

But League One and League Two look set to be scrapped with a points-per-game solution and then rehashed play-offs.

It is to football’s shame this is happening.

EFL chairman Rick Parry is right when he forecasts doom, pointing out governance change needs to be accepted and enforced on clubs.

Perhaps we need to put blue plaques of national heritage above the doors of each football club to protect these community assets as vital.

What is uniting the Premier League is their pursuit of money to retain their gold status.

What should unite the Football League is their lack of money. Allowing the leagues to be stopped will lead to ruin.

What is unaffordable to most EFL clubs is taking players and staff off furlough, the testing costs required for Covid-19 safety and opening stadiums for no revenue.

This will hasten their visit to Carey Street. And failing to find a proper solution will only make this situation worse.

For League One and League Two clubs, taking people off furlough and paying for the testing regime for around six weeks of football means £160,000 in wages and around £100,000 in testing.

For 47 clubs, that’s over £12million. That is 47 historic clubs that could be shut down and damaged beyond repair — for just £12m.

The Premier League gave the NHS £20m, swept off the table like crumbs. Even the smokescreen of the #playerstogether initiative raised £4m.

The argument of good money after bad doesn’t cut it — this is a sport bound together by collective responsibility and football creditor rules.

The EFL now needs refinancing, restructuring and reform — and all with enforced financial governance.

But it must also have value and protection. If it doesn’t find real solutions, we will witness the first etchings of its own death warrant.

Only time will tell if their own Great Escape is successful.

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