£135M COVID RELIEF FOR RUGBY UNION..BUT EFL PREM BOTH MISS OUT

Government’s £300m rescue package does not cover major football leagues

SPORTS MINISTER Nigel Huddleston told professional football to save itself as he unveiled a £300million emergency rescue package.

Rugby union is the biggest winner with £135m of funds, horse racing will get £40m and non-league football and the Women’s Super League a total of £28m.

Cricket was not on the Sp or ts Wint er Sur v iv al Package list, and there was no money for swimming or athletics, although £59m of the total has yet to be allocated. The Government reiterated it expects the

Premier League to bail out the lower leagues. That is a big concern to the EFL as no deal has been struck with the top flight and several League One and Two clubs are in danger of going bust.

But Huddleston (right, top) put the onus on the EFL to reach an agreement with the Premier League and said: “If we have a third party entity saying we are going to make sure no club goes under, why on earth then would we come in?

“I encourage the EFL to come together and compromise, as what’s on the table has been rejected by the EFL. The commitment from the Premier League to make sure EFL clubs don’t go under is, I think, a sincere one.”

The bailout money is largely low interest loans and designed to help sports rts hit by not having fans in stadiums. Huddleston confirmed the Government plans to star t t est events for supporters from next month.

He denied claims

“posh sports” were being prioritised and insisted the focus had to be on those hit hard by not having spectators through the turnstiles over the next few months.

He added: “The money is based on the need of clubs to make sure they survive, so it is not a north-south divide, Tory vs Labour area. You will see the money is being spread fairly well across the cou country.

“It is based on an assessment of need and I’m comfortable with that criteria rather than any thin g el se being applied.

“With the ECB, we speak all the time, a n d s w i mmi n g – they’re not impacted as much as some of the other big spectator sports over the winter.”

However, there was criticism from sports which had been helped. Bristol Bears owner Steve Lansdown (above) said: “It doesn’t sound enough, does it, not compared to what’s been granted to the Arts Council?

“It s e e ms a p i tt a n c e compared to that when you’re looking at the amount of people involved in sport around the country.”

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said the sport faced “difficult circumstances and unique challenges” and was “grateful f or this muchneeded support”.

British Horseracing Authority boss Nick Rust said the support “recognises the sport’s position as the second biggest spectator sport in the UK and the financial peril faced by tens of thousands who depend on racing for their livelihoods.”