Football Sports

Non League and their concern over Lockdown financing

Lovely day for a bit of non-league“Lovely day for a bit of non-league” by qwghlm is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Recently, there has been growing discontent surrounding the Sports Winter Survival Package following its announcement in November, with it allocating £11m for clubs in the National League system, and £14m for clubs in steps 3-6 of the Non-League system.

However, the DCMS recently suggested that this £11m for National League clubs would come in the form of loans as opposed to grants, with the £14m of funding expected to be the same.

This has upset many clubs at this level, with the initial finance that clubs received coming in the form of grants, with some National League clubs suggesting that the idea of loans was not mentioned by the DCMS or the FA at that time.



In Gloucestershire, the changes will affect local side Gloucester City, currently sitting first in the National League North, with the impacts from the package still unknown.

In response, the National League North released a statement signed by 12 of the league’s executives, including Gloucester’s Alex Petheram, calling on the FA and the DCMS to continue the funding they have received for the first three months of the season. 

“{We call on} The FA to not to betray the trust National League clubs placed in them by agreeing to commence the season and to ensure the additional £11m in support is in the form of grants not loans.” 

This change will concern clubs lower in the Non-League pyramid as well, with many clubs at this level against the idea of loans due to their lack of income, with a number of Gloucestershire sides at risk.

Tuffley Rovers manager Rich Cox’s side was due to restart their fixtures on the 12th December, however their December fixtures were also postponed, leaving the side 16th in the league, with only seven games played in the division.

After not playing a competitive match since October 31st, it raises serious doubts whether the team will be ready to start the season in the immediate future.

Tuffley currently resides in the Hellenic Division, alongside other Gloucestershire based clubs like Bishops Cleeve & Brimscombe and Thrupp, among a number of others.

The Hellenic League Executive’s preferred option is to play the season to completion in early Autumn following a summer break suggesting it is the best option for the clubs to safely resume the season.

“If we were simply to start again afresh in August we could be in this same position again next year, with no re-structuring to a smaller footprint, with the escalating cost of travel, and struggles for player commitment.”

Fixtures in the Hellenic League have currently being pushed back until January, with the restart date already being pushed back twice this month, with the League confirming that football at this level can only begin resuming after Lockdown is lifted.

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