Grassroots football including junior leagues will be suspended during the second lockdown which begins on Thursday.

Amateur football leagues began their season in October with most clubs only having completed three to four matches since the re-start.

Prime minister Boris Johnson had said he could make any exemptions to the rule that outdoor sport - apart from at elite level - should stop in the national lockdown lasting from November 5 to December 2. Leisure and outdoors sports settings will also close.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden confirmed that grassroots sports outside of school would be 'paused'.

“As soon as we can resume this, we will,” he added during a Twitter thread explaining the new national measures.

But this was criticised by former Blackburn Rovers midfielder Robbie Savage, who coaches a junior team, as he said there were inconsistencies in allowing children to mix during school but not while playing grassroots sports at the weekend.

Calling the decision “nonsensical”, Mr Savage told BBC Breakfast: “I look at Oliver Dowden’s tweets last night and there’s so many inconsistencies.”

He added: “These kids, they need a mental and physical activity to stimulate themselves on a weekend, it’s ridiculous.”

The former Premier League star has launched a petition to allow supervised, Covid-secure youth team sports to continue during the lockdown, which had surpassed 15,000 signatures by Tuesday morning.

A Government spokesperson said: “We recognise how important exercise is for people’s physical and mental health, which is why it has always been an essential activity under England’s coronavirus restrictions.

“From 5 November, indoor and outdoor grassroots sport facilities must close in line with the latest public health guidance. But outdoor exercise will be permitted alone, with your household, or one person of another household, so that people are able to stay active safely.”

The Football Association had said yesterday, “We remain in regular dialogue with the government in relation to both men’s and women’s ‘non-elite’ football in England and will provide a further update on this in due course.”

It was a similar view echoed by regional football associations who said they were awaiting clarification on whether grassroots football would go ahead.