Shrewsbury Town to offer refunds on cancelled home games – and a place on new 'wall of fame'

The club say they realise, given the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent loss of jobs, that fans may require a refund and accept offering one is 'the right thing to do'.

Shrewsbury reiterated their deep financial concern with income streams 'severely hit' over recent months and for the foreseeable future.

The club have been inundated with messages from those who have already pledged their support for next season despite no certainty about when the 2020/21 season will take place and when fans will be permitted into stadia.

Town will create a 'wall of fame' for those supporters who do not wish to have the the cost of the five cancelled home fixtures refunded. The wall will be built outside the south east corner of Montgomery Waters Meadow, where names of fans who have decided against the option will be etched on.

Chief executive Brian Caldwell has stated that full refunds of those fixtures would cost the club £150,000.

Refunds can be claimed by emailing tickets@shrewsburytown.co.uk with name, contact number and supporter number, preferably within the next two weeks so the club can assess the situation.

Town say they are working to a 'worst case scenario' of laying on options for the 1,500 fans who have already committed to a season ticket for next season.

One example is an agreement between the EFL and Sky for the season-ticket holders to have access to a free iFollow pass, to allow them to watch any fixture that is played behind closed doors.

Caldwell has previously confirmed that Shrewsbury could miss out on up to £2million if supporters are not permitted into stadia until 2021.

But the Town chief is hopeful that will not be the case, citing the suggestion of a reduced Wembley capacity at the FA Cup final in August and unconfirmed reports of a supporter presence in mid-to-late September.

The Town CEO wrote in a letter to Town fans: 'Hopefully, with the reduction in numbers affected by COVID-19 and the gradual easing of lockdown, there will be some light at the end of the tunnel.

'It is vitally important financially that we get crowds back into stadiums and any behind closed doors matches are kept to a minimum. However, we need to ensure for health reasons alone that allowing crowds back into the stadium is safe for everyone.'

It has also been confirmed, after this week's decision to officially curtail the season, Town's five loan players have returned to their parent clubs.

Agreements had been made with Bristol City, Wigan, Fleetwood, Blackburn and Southampton for Max O'Leary, Callum Lang, Conor McAleny, Sam Hart and Kayne Ramsay to remain at Town if the season was continued.

Shrewsbury will continue to use the government's job retention furlough scheme for the next couple of months after the recent announcement of its extension.

Only Sam Ricketts, Caldwell and a skeletal staff have been working throughout the entirety of the coronavirus-affected period with players and staff both football and non-football on furlough leave, which the club have topped up to ensure full pay.

The letter addressed the recent incident relating to Shrewsbury & Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski, where the Conservative MP signed a letter from Damian Collins MP, apparently 'on behalf of Shrewsbury Town', stating the desire of football above League Two to continue.

That stance contradicted Shrewsbury's very open opinion on curtailing the season and drew a disappointed response from the club.

Town hope 'lessons have been learned' from the episode and have ensured the Member of Parliament now has a direct contact to reach the club.

Shrewsbury have agreed with the supporters' parliament to hold a virtual player of the year awards later in the year, details to be confirmed in due course.