Government WILL provide cash bailout for National League clubs - Tech

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is overseeing the Government bail-out to aid non-league clubs

National League clubs will receive an emergency cash bail-out from the government to allow their season to start this weekend, at a cost to the taxpayer of upto £3m a month.

The controversial £20m handout will mean the three leagues – the National League, the National League North and the National League South – can start their seasons this weekend.

Many of the 67 clubs faced financial ruin without the matchday revenue they rely after the government’s announced fans would not be allowed into stadiums from October 1.

But the clubs have now been told the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is working on a package of support to cover ‘essential lost revenue’ so the season can start as planned.

Football has been one of many sports begging the government for financial aid in recent months. But many believe wealthier clubs should be stepping in to help smaller, struggling teams, rather than the taxpayer.

CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS

National League and many EFL clubs say the Covid-19 pandemic has left them on the brink of financial ruin.

Yet Premier League clubs have once again spent big on new players, with Chelsea spending an eye-watering £89m to get German star Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 21-year-old is the most expensive transfer this summer with Manchester City’s £64m acquisition of Ruben Dias, a new club record for Pep Guardiola’s side, the second most expensive in the Premier League in this window.

Havertz’s Germany team-mate Timo Werner ranks third after his £54m move from RB Leipzig to Chelsea.

Premier League clubs have already splashed out £1.1BILLION on transfers in this transfer window, dwarfing the £20m needed to secure the short-term future of these three leagues.

Yet there has been a deafening silence from the top clubs when lower level clubs – both in the EFL and further down the football pyramid – have asked for financial help during the unprecedented crisis.

While some clubs are sceptical about providing EFL clubs with a handout, others — primarily the smaller clubs — are far more sympathetic.

There is a growing acceptance that top-flight clubs will have to inject cash into the EFL to keep several teams afloat, knowing that not doing so will have grave consequences and will damage the Premier League’s image.

Some club officials want to avoid a scenario where it appears they are offering financial support under duress; or, even worse, not giving them any money at all.

There is a belief that the Government are reluctant to include the Premier League and EFL in a financial relief fund for UK sport after plans to reintroduce fans were scrapped on Tuesday.

National League clubs are to receive government funding to allow their season to commence

While news of the bail-out was welcomed by employees and supporters of non-league clubs, others felt it was not the duty of the British taxpayer to fit the bill to help these teams.

‘Its almost like the govt doesn’t expect to get any of this money back or repay their enormous borrowings back,’ one critical fan wrote on Twitter.

‘Think they’ve forgotten whose money they are giving away, it’s not govts money, it’s our money, the British taxpayers.’

Twitter account, The Away Section, which focuses on supporters at the grass-roots level, was equally scathing, insisting the £20m would be ‘paid back in the long term’.

They wrote: What a waste of money – nothing to celebrate really. On one hand its good clubs will get this crisis softened but there really is no sense in this??. Plus govt’s don’t give money away for free – don’t believe that. We will all pay in the long term.’

Another called on non-league fans to take a stand against the Premier League as it is the government, not the 20 top-flight teams, providing the cash to ease the financial worries of teams at step five and six in English football.

‘If the Premier League decide they can’t spare some change for the National League clubs, I hope all Non League fans respond by cancelling their TV subscriptions to the sports channels,’ he wrote.

One fan described how the Dias money could have funded the entire lower league for a year

In a show of defiance, a non-league fan called on supporters to boycott sport TV subscriptions

The reaction to the news was not all positive as one user felt it was not the responsibility of the British taxpayer to step up and bail-out clubs operating in non-league

The Away Section described the Government bail-out as a ‘waste of money’ long term

Manchester City’s £64m signing of Ruben Dias left non-league fans irritated that Premier League clubs have not offered money to help clubs lower down the football pyramid

Earlier this week a letter co-signed by 17 individuals including former Football Association chairmen Greg Dyke and Lord Triesman and BBC and BT Sport pundit Robbie Savage and 10 MPs said help was urgently needed to ward off the threat of financial collapse.

The letter, sent to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden warned: ‘Without any plans being made to rescue clubs, many in the EFL and others in the National League as well, are now actively preparing to make all but essential staff redundant, cease playing, close down their youth academies and community foundations, and put their business into administration,’ the letter warns.

BBC and BT Sport pundit Robbie Savage (left) and former FA chief Greg Dyke (right) both signed the letter with clubs in the EFL standing to lose £200m without crowds this season

The letter sent to Dowden in full

We wrote to you in May this year setting out the financial crisis facing football clubs, and particularly those in the English Football League (EFL), because of the loss of match-day revenue resulting from the government’s policies to combat COVID-19. We also detailed a game plan that could be put in place to prevent this. Since then clubs have been able to sustain themselves through advance season ticket sales, solidarity payments from the Premier League, and had agreed to start playing the new season in the belief that fans would be allowed to return to stadiums this autumn.

It’s now clear that spectators will not be back in EFL grounds, even in limited numbers, for the foreseeable future. As a consequence clubs will not only lose this budgeted-for income, but will also have to refund season tickets to fans who will now be prevented from attending matches.

There has been no agreement reached by the football authorities on a bailout for clubs that need it, many of whom were already heavily indebted before the coronavirus arrived. From the statements made by ministers at DCMS questions in the House of Commons on 24 September, it’s equally clear that the government has no current proposals to provide financial support, and nor is it prepared to offer any guarantees for the future.

Without any plans being made to rescue football clubs, many in the EFL and others in the National League as well, are now actively preparing to make all but essential staff redundant, cease playing, close down their youth academies and community foundations, and put their business into administration. This could lead not only to the failure of many historic community clubs, but the collapse of the national league structure that we have known for over one hundred years. These are decisions that will be made in the coming weeks, with many clubs unable to meet their payroll obligations for next month.

There is still time to act, but not long left. The government made £1.5billion available to rescue arts and cultural organisations across the country that faced closure because of the coronavirus. We believe that football, like other well-loved professional sports in this country, is also a cultural activity. We would ask that the government now make clear what financial support it’s prepared to give before it is too late. In particular, we believe that in order for clubs to sustain themselves over the winter and keep playing, they would need to be compensated for the loss of match ticket sales. The absence of this income is not a result of their actions, but the policies that have been put in place by the government in response to a public health emergency.

We understand that you had hoped that the Premier League clubs might make a significant additional contribution to support the EFL. Whilst this would be welcome those clubs too face swingeing losses from lost ticketing receipts and falling revenues from broadcasting matches. However, it cannot be the Premier League’s sole responsibility to sort out issues arising from government policy. The government itself needs to take responsibility, or many already-embattled towns – often in areas of the country which have suffered many hardships in recent decades – will lose their last focal point.

SIGNATORIES

Damian Collins MP, former Chairman of the DCMS select committee

Charlie Methven, co-owner Sunderland FC

Lord David Triesman, former Chairman of the FA

Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Vice-President The National League

Lord Goddard of Stockport

Malcolm Clarke, Chairman of the Football Supporters Association

Robbie Savage, former player and sports broadcaster

Greg Dyke, former Chairman of the FA

Karl McCartney MP for Lincoln and Chairman of the APPG for Football

Ian Mearns MP for Gateshead and Chairman of the APPG for Football Supporters

David Amess MP for Southend West

Rehman Chishti MP for Gillingham

Damian Green MP for Ashford and member of the DCMS Select Committee

Kevin Brennan MP for Cardiff West and member of the DCMS Select Committee

Questions will now shift to whether clubs in the EFL will be granted a similar bail-out to off-set their losses without fans.

The EFL fear its 72 clubs stand to lose £200m this season without crowds, having already lost £50m last season. There is growing pressure on the Premier League to fund an emergency bail-out of the EFL but, as of today, nothing has been agreed.

It is anticipated that the Football League stands to lose £200m this season without supporters

Pilot events for fans returning to stadiums had commenced but have since been stopped with an increase in Covid-19 cases and the Government pushing back plans for an October return date.

That proved particularly damaging for clubs in the third, fourth, fifth and six tiers, who had been planning for a spike in revenue next month.

Gillingham owner Paul Scally recently revealed to the Mirror that the League One club were losing £40,000 a month at the current rate and their existence was very much under threat.

‘You cannot tell me that with Chelsea spending £200m in the transfer market there is no money in the Premier League to help out the EFL clubs,’ Scally said.

‘We should be a family in football. We’ve been a family for 125 years and now when a member of the family is struggling badly it’s time for wealthy big brother to step up and help the family. It’s as simple as that.’

The National League is set to start on Saturday, while National League North and South clubs are in FA Cup qualifying action.