£2.5M REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
Cynics may question motive but cash is a major boost for SPFL
SCOTTISH football has never been known for acts of philanthropy. Riven with self-interest and cynicism, the same filter applies to pretty much everything. When someone throws their money around, fans narrow their eyes and ask the same basic question: What are they after?
James Anderson has spent years generating funds and using them wisely. He managed investment firm Baillie Gifford’s flagship investment trust, Scottish Mortgage, for two decades and its total assets are now worth £11.3billion.
That includes stakes worth tens of millions in Netflix, Amazon and Tesla.
A man not noted for throwing money down black holes, his willingness to hand over £2.5million to Scottish football raised an obvious question. Why?
The first suspicion was natural. Hearts received £3.25m from unnamed benefactors in their 2019 accounts. That followed £3m in 2018 and £2.5m in 2017.
Anderson turned out to be the largest contributor on each occasion and, when Ann Budge revealed in a BBC radio interview the existence of a mystery benefactor willing to throw free money at the SPFL, rival fans asked if it was an unsubtle attempt to secure the Gorgie side’s safety in the Premiership by persuading grateful clubs to vote for reconstruction.
After Anderson concluded an agreement to plough £50,000 into each of Scotland’s senior clubs, however, SPFL Trust chief executive Nicky Reid yesterday insisted that publicity-shy Anderson wants nothing back for his money.
‘Absolutely nothing whatsoever,’ she said.
‘Ann (Budge) was simply James’ general contact in the Scottish football world and he asked Ann to make that introduction to Neil Doncaster (SPFL chief executive) at the league and that’s what happened.
‘This donation is being made without qualifications or pre-conditions relating to the SPFL or any of the other matters which others might think ties in to this.
‘It’s probably worth noting as well that, although we are the charity associated with the SPFL, we are an entirely separate and independent organisation.
‘We have our own board of trustees, we are governed by the charity regulator and so there is no tie-in whatsoever in any way — and nor does Mr Anderson want there to be — with everything to do with league reconstruction or relegation places in relation to a specific club. Absolutely none.
‘James Anderson is a genuine philanthropist. He has donated funds to a variety of different charities, both in the UK and in the States and elsewhere.’
To say there are no strings attached to yesterday’s donation is not entirely true.
For 42 struggling clubs to claim their £50,000 grants, they have to show they plan to use it for the good of their local community.
Most will use the cash to buy expensive testing equipment for Covid-19, allowing them to test players and staff and play games behind closed doors sooner. Along the way, there also has to be some proof that they are willing to test community groups as well.
Strings, then, but maybe just not the ones that people suspected.
In an otherwise bad week for history’s philanthropists, Anderson has emerged as a rare beast. A veteran of financial services with a sound reputation, no ego and a plan to highlight Scottish football’s capacity to be more than a vehicle for bookies, beer firms and tobacco barons.
‘Effectively, James just wants to be sure that the money is spent sensibly and that it goes to help football in this current crisis and that there is a benefit for those communities who rely on the work that their clubs and trusts do,’ added Reid.
‘Clubs will be asked to complete an expression-of-interest process and they will be given three choices on that.
‘They can seek to draw down the £50,000. They can choose not to draw down the £50,000 if, for some reason, they feel they don’t want to or feel it isn’t needed or appropriate. Or they can choose to draw down the £50,000 and donate it directly to their own community trusts.
‘From that point, they will have to tell us how they choose to spend the funds.
‘They will also have to tell us a wee bit about the community benefit that will come from that.
‘Provided those two things are taken care of, then they will be able to draw down those funds and we hope to be able to make that available to them very quickly.’
Inevitably, calls came yesterday for Premiership clubs to forsake the money and allow it to go back into the pot for lower-league clubs.
Should they choose to do so, the likes of Celtic and Rangers can donate the cash to their charitable foundations. But, with larger clubs shipping the most money, expectations of any passing up a free cash injection are low.
The initial cash value of the funding is £2.5m, with an additional £625,000 coming from gift aid.
A figure of £2.1m will be made available for clubs to access, with the balance of £1.025m going directly to the SPFL Trust.
The donations come without qualifications or preconditions relating to the future structure or governance of the SPFL. Intriguingly, Anderson (below) hinted at more cash in the pipeline — both from himself and from others in his circle. ‘James recognises that our clubs and club trusts and ourselves and the league are all organisations which are dealing with this first-hand in terms of the impact the pandemic has had on football,’ added Reid. ‘He trusts that we know — and that our clubs know — what will make the most significant difference. ‘It’s worth nothing that the only thing the clubs will not be allowed to use the funds for is to pay wages. ‘Neither player wages nor manager’s wages. However, we do recognise there are examples of things that the money might be used for.
‘Take, for example, if a club wants to use the funds to buy a piece of Covid-testing equipment.
‘Those are expensive pieces of equipment and, once you have bought the equipment, there are per-head costs that you would attract through that system.
‘What we are asking is that, if that equipment is purchased, clubs would also make it available to other local community groups who would then only have to cover the per-head costs.
‘This is the kind of discussion that we have had with James Anderson around how this might work to ensure that there is a genuine community benefit.
‘He understands what will make the biggest difference to our clubs during this pandemic.’
James just wants to be sure that the money is spent sensibly