Lucy Allan MP today welcomed the news that local football clubs across England will be able to access grant funding to support their finances. Clubs in Steps 1 and 2, such as AFC Telford United, will be able to access grant support, rather than the current loans, if they can demonstrate that they are unable to afford their current loan. Clubs in Tier 3-6 around the country will be able to access grand funding immediately.
Lucy co-signed a letter with Mark Pritchard MP to raise this very issue on behalf of AFC Telford United with the Government, and is pleased that steps have been taken to support local clubs. You can read the letter in full at the bottom of this article.
The £10 million package will contain:
- Confirmation that clubs in National League Steps 1 and 2 can apply for grants if their imminent future is at risk and they can demonstrate loans are unaffordable.
- Grant funding to protect immediate future of approximately 850 football clubs across England in Steps 3-6 of the National League.
The funding will be provided in the form of grants. It is the first award to be announced from the Government’s £300 million Sports Winter Survival Package that is focused on helping those major spectator sports severely impacted by coronavirus restrictions survive the winter.
It follows submissions made from individual sports to an independent decision-making Board, supported by Sport England.
In October the Government announced it had brokered a unique deal with the National Lottery to provide a £10 million cash injection to keep Step 1 and 2 clubs afloat, and recently announced a provisional £11 million in very low interest long term loans to support clubs in those tiers. Clubs will be assessed on the basis of need, with grants available where loans are demonstrated to be unaffordable for individual clubs in line with the support offered for other sports.
The Sports Winter Survival Package is a sector-specific intervention that is on top of the multi-billion pounds worth of business support that has been made available by the Government, including the furlough scheme, business rates relief and business interruption loan scheme that has helped many sports clubs survive. Football alone has accessed many hundreds of millions of pounds of support through this.
Lucy Allan MP said:
"This is really welcome news for AFC Telford United, which I know has been struggling financially while its fans cannot attend matches."
"I am delighted that so soon after writing to the Sports Minister with Mark Pritchard MP, we have seen the Government move quickly to announce further support."
"I would like to thank the Sports Minister and everyone at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for supporting local teams in these challenging times. It will come as a great relief to many in Telford who can now rest assured that their local club will be able to emerge from the pandemic having received significant financial support."
Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston MP, said:
“With precious public money, we are providing financial support to the National League Steps 1 and 2 in the form of loans. However if clubs at those levels can demonstrate it needs grant funding urgently to survive, we will ensure that option is available. We will not let clubs go to the wall. Applications will be assessed by the independent Board, through the same rigorous process that we apply to other sports.”
“We promised to support sports and target help to where it’s most needed. Today we continue to deliver on that with further support for National League football clubs."
“The National League has already benefited from the Government support schemes through a £10 million Government-brokered cash partnership with the National Lottery, and there will be more support for the bigger clubs on the way."
“Today’s £10 million grant for lower league clubs in Steps 3-6 will act as a lifeline for around 850 clubs in towns and cities across England, and help these clubs through this difficult period until we can get fans back in safely."
Further confirmations of funding from the Sports Winter Survival Package will be made in due course.
