‘THIS WILL MAKE HUGE DIFFERENCE’
“GETTING people back through the door is everything. You can’t play football at Non-League without a crowd. It’s just impossible.”
Shepshed Dynamo FC’s chairman, Mick Sloan, sums up how crucial getting supporters back through the turnstiles is to clubs at the lower levels.
And some welcome news for Non-League clubs came this week in the shape of the Matchday Support Fund, which was launched by the Premier League on Wednesday and closes at 5pm on September 16.
This is offering National League System and Women’s Football Pyramid clubs grants – with levels based on the Step they play at – to help make their grounds safer for the 2020-21 season, as they prepare for the resumption of football and return of supporters to their stadia.
The first 24 hours after the window opened saw a flurry of applications from clubs throughout the National League System, with Dynamo, who play in the UHLSport United Counties Premier Division, being one of them.
“I had half-an-hour at work and I thought, ‘Do you know what? I’m going to have a look at this’. And I applied that afternoon,” explains Mick.
“We’ve got signage to help with social distancing all around the ground which, obviously, you have to pay for. Safety tape too, for taping off numerous seats in the stand, which has 250 seats, and now (due to social distancing) it can hold 40 people. The grant will help us pay for all of that.
“We’ve had to buy more paper towel machines because some of the toilets didn’t have them in. Roughly at the minute, I reckon I’ve spent about a grand already, prior to this grant being available, just on the initial set-up and getting people back through the door. This £4,000 Matchday Support Fund grant has helped hugely.”
Mick points out the success of the measures the club has put in place so far means that more supporters are able to return.
“Last Saturday, we had 130 here. All the procedures we put in place worked. All the supporters were happy. The staff, volunteers and players were happy. So now we can move up to that 300 band, which is terrific. This help in getting people back safely will boost our gates, and it will boost the bar takings.”
Even if clubs groundshare, they could be eligible for Matchday Support funding. Shepshed Dynamo’s ground-sharing tenants at The Dovecoat Stadium, Ingles FC, who play in the East Midlands Counties League, have also secured £1,000 from the Fund.
Another club that was quick off the mark this week was Hereford Pegasus, who play in the Hellenic League Division One West. Their chairman Kevin Bishop explains some of the measures their £2,000 Matchday Support Fund grant will help them put in place.
“One of the things we wanted to make sure of is that people were safe coming in and had appropriate routes to keep proper social distancing,” he said.
“We’ve designed a oneway system round the pitch. This funding will allow us to signpost it properly around the pitch perimeter, with appropriate arrows and signage.
“It will also help us install a permanent gate to secure the route. It’s all just going to help immensely. I think it’s terrific that the Premier League are getting involved like this.”