It’s been a year since Gillingham fans have been able to attend a Football League game.

Gillingham’s trip to Sunderland on March 7, 2020 was the last time fans got the chance to watch their team in action live. Professional football was suspended six days later because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There were 473 away supporters in a crowd close to 30,000 at the Stadium of Light to watch the Gills bring home a point thanks to a 96th minute equaliser from Mikael Mandron.

A year and a day later and the Gills fans have still not been able to watch their team in action live, instead having to make do with watching live streams. The 2019/20 season ended with positions determined on points per game average.

There was hope when the current campaign began that fans would be allowed back in and for some clubs, the turnstiles were back turning for a while (Gills played infront of 724 Cambridge United fans when they visited for an EFL Trophy match), but at the time of tiered restrictions Kent was at the epicenter of the virus in this country and football attendance remained off limits for the Blues supporters.

Stadiums are expected to remain closed for elite teams until mid-May apart from those chosen for test events.

It will have been a long wait to return and Gillingham Football Club will certainly welcome those fans back, hopefully when the 2021/22 season kicks off on Saturday, August 7.

Many season ticket holders have yet to find out what the club plan to offer those who have lost out during the supporter lockout. Fans may choose not to chase the club for money in what has been a tough time.

The club have been contacted about the season ticket situation by KentOnline and it's understood communication with fans is expected soon. There has been no official response. At some point the Gills will want to start selling tickets for the 21/22 campaign.

Gills released their abridged accounts for the previous season (18/19) in October and reported losses of over £500,000. The club “reduced costs in all areas” to help mitigate the loss of matchday revenue. Finances from the previous year showed a turnover of £7m and that included £1.25m on ticket sales and a similar amount for banqueting and catering, areas which have been reduced to a minimum since the Covid pandemic.

In December it was announced that the Gills would receive a minimum payment of £375,000 as part of a £20m Premier League bail-out for EFL clubs, with additional funds being distributed on a ‘lost gate revenue share calculation.’ The job retention scheme was also utilised when football was suspended while manager Steve Evans reportedly took a cut in wages.

In September, on the eve of the current season beginning, Gills chairman Paul Scally thanked the club’s season ticket holders for keeping the club afloat.

In an open letter, he wrote: “The majority have not asked in regards to cash refunds, realising the position the club is in and understanding the effect this scenario would have to the survival of the business.

“Infact most have ‘donated’ the benefit to the club, which is again admirable and I thank you for your generosity.” At the time, he said they were looking at a solution to the season ticket issue.

Gillingham, whose average attendance is around 5,000, lost five home games from their fixture list at the end of the curtailed 2019/20 season and look set to play the whole of the 2020/21 season without supporters in attendance, 28 league games in total where fans have missed out. They have around 1,600 current season ticket holders, all of whom will be keen to find out what the club plan to do.

In January, the Independent Football Ombudsmen recommended that the club “makes a clear public statement of what it intends to do with regard to refunds for matches missed.”

The club have had it tough, but so have the fans, and everyone will be hoping that supporters can return in their numbers to Priestfield soon.

Their manager Steve Evans has certainly missed the supporters, recently stating that the Gillingham fanbase is one of few in League 1 that really make a difference.

He said: "Priestfield is one of the most iconic grounds in League 1. I have been there (as an opposition manager) and got bashed, absolutely battered off that Rainham End and I love them, and we miss them."

Read more on the Gills;

Jack Tucker 'back to his best'

Practice paying off for striker