The start date for Gillingham’s 2021/21 campaign has been announced.

Saturday, August 7 will be a day many fans will now be looking forward to as it’s expected that football stadiums will be back open by then.

The government have set a date of May 17 for sporting venues to reopen for elite level competition providing Covid levels continue to fall.

Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium last staged a football match infront of paying supporters at the end of February, 2020. It’s been just over a year since the Gills played infront of their own fans.

The EFL have now announced the key dates for the 2021/22 campaign, confirming that Wembley Stadium will host the play-offs over two weekends in May. The League 1 final will take place on Saturday, May 21, 2022, a week before League 2 (May 28) and the Championship (May 29) hold their promotion finals.

Following on from the first round of league matches on the weekend of August 7, the opening round of the League Cup will take place, week commencing August 9.

Papa John’s will continue to sponsor the EFL Trophy with round one games commencing on the week of August 30.

The final day of the season in League 1 will be on the weekend of April 30. The Championship and League 2 will end the following week.

Read more: Behind closed doors - a year on