Calls for changes in distribution of cash as Magpies miss out
LETTER TO CULTURE SECRETARY CLAIMS NOTTS COULD HAVE BANKED £280K MORE IN FUNDING
STARTLING figures have revealed Notts County should have banked more than £280,000 in funding had the National League allocated a Covid rescue package on average attendances.
The National Lottery agreed a £10m package to help clubs survive the crisis back in October on the basis it was going to be distributed according to lost gate receipts.
But the National League opted for an arbitrary rate which has caused a huge row, with complaints from a number of clubs that they are being short-changed while others are profiting from the grant.
After strong criticism, the National League had appointed an independent panel – led by former FA chairman David Bernstein – to review how the cash was distributed but it has not yet been shared with the clubs. Now Duncan Hart, a London FA council member and member of the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ Trust, has written to culture secretary Oliver Dowden to ask that the next three months of funding is distributed differently.
According to the Times, the letter states that under the current method of distribution, Notts received £287,000 less than they would have been entitled to had the funding been based on average attendances.
Notts are monitoring developments closely after chief executive Jason Turner criticised the National League’s allocation formula back in October, saying it damaged the league’s integrity.
“We had hoped that our share of the well-publicised £10m funding package kindly made available by the National Lottery would have gone a long way to making up the shortfall (attendances),” he said.
“But, while we appreciate the Government, FA and National
League’s efforts in securing this funding, the allocation of the monies does not accord with the criteria set out earlier this month, when Government made it clear it should be used to subsidise clubs for their lost gate revenue.
“How can it be right, therefore, that we receive only £11,000 per month more than the likes of Boreham Wood, Wealdstone and Weymouth despite our average attendances being more than five times theirs?
“They and a host of other clubs are now actually in a stronger financial position than they would have been if crowds were permitted at matches and, as a result, have gained an unfair competitive advantage over clubs like ours who have been left significantly worse off.
“The allocation is profoundly flawed to the extent that it seriously and adversely impacts the very integrity of the competition.”
Notts had the highest average attendance in the National League last season of 5,200 but under the current model receive £95,000, just £11,000 more than Boreham Wood whose average gate last season was 724.
Bernstein has since criticised the National League for not sharing the independent panel’s report into the funding distribution.
He told the Times: “We have had a very poor response to our report from the National League and it has not been circulated to the clubs, and nor has there been any sign of a change of governance.
“The model they came up with to distribute the money appeared extremely arbitrary.
“I would hope the government will listen to this. The funding and distribution for the January to March money really needs to be dealt with more independently. When it comes to dealing with public money it needs to be allocated properly and with visibility.”