CEO's concern over funding for National League clubs
Football: CEO hopes National League can lobby Government for grant aid as part of £11m rescue package
Magpies CEO Jon Adams insists Maidenhead United doesn’t want to saddle itself with debt, after the National League outlined its plans to distribute the £11m allocated for its clubs through loans rather than grants
News that most of the money – needed to keep clubs afloat through the remaining months of the campaign – would be issued as loans has come as a major blow, with most clubs assuming they’d have their costs covered by grants while matches are played behind closed doors.
With no signs of fans returning to grounds any time soon, it’s unclear how some clubs will be able to continue with the season, however, Adams does believe the National League season will be completed.
He is though less certain that will be the case for the National League North and South.
Last week clubs in the National League North wrote to the league, the FA and Government urging them not to backtrack on their pledge to support clubs throughout the whole campaign, however, Adams says clubs were never promised that all the support they received would come in the form of grants.
Maidenhead did receive grant money for the first three months of the season, receiving £250,000 from the National Lottery, however, the National League season – certainly in the North and South leagues – could still be in jeopardy if the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) cannot come up with more grant funding for clubs.
Adams is hopeful the league will now go back to the Government and FA and negotiate for more grant funding as part of the £11m package. He said that if the club was to take on a hefty loan to see it through the season, it would effectively be ‘pushing the problem down the road’.
The league’s new chief executive Mark Ives, who took over from Mike Tattersall in December, addressed the situation with clubs yesterday (Wednesday).
No club in the three divisions has yet played more than half of their matches, but, even before this funding news, thought had been given to pausing the season for a short time to re-assess the situation, potentially restarting again when conditions are more favourable and safer for players, club staff and their families.
After taking part in the Zoom meeting with the National League yesterday morning (Wednesday), Adams said: “We’ve been provided with some more information on the current state of play and we’ve been asked to consider some options and provide some feedback for the league so that’s what we’ll do.
“I think there’s the need for further negotiation between the National League, FA and Government in terms of the funding and how it will be distributed. It’s right to say that the majority of clubs had the expectation that a significant proportion of the funding would be available in grant form. But there was also an expectation there would be a proportion of grant and loan funding in this second tranche, enabling clubs to choose whether they would just operate on the grant funds or choose to dip into the loan funding that was on the table.
“It’s being indicated that most of the money will be available in loans, but there are different options on the table that are in discussion.
“The challenge is that for a lot of football clubs at our level, including ourselves, we don’t want to saddle ourselves with debt. We don’t want to borrow money to push the problem down the road, because that’s no use to anyone.”
The club has been asked to provide feedback on the options that have been put in front of them and Adams expects there will be further discussion on the matter between the league, FA and Government.
He added that it’s too soon to understand what the implications could be, but he doesn’t believe that taking out loans is a suitable solution for clubs like Maidenhead.
“It’s clear from the feedback of clubs in the National League North and South that they don’t feel the season can go on without it being grant funding,” he said. “In the National League there’s not been so much feedback yet, so it’s too soon to understand what the implications are.
“We wait to see what the proposals are and how the negotiations now go with Government. We’re clear that we don’t believe that taking on loans is a right or suitable solution for clubs like us, because it pushes the problem down the road. But we need to engage with and lobby Government to make sure there is at least some grant funding available within the package.
“My understanding is that the funding is part of a wider package for sport, and that £250m of it would be available in the form of loans and £50m available in the form of grants. So, it seems to me that the opportunity exists for them to come up with a package from the money that’s available for the National League that does have a proportion of grant funding. It would make sense that the National League continues to lobby on that front. It would be right for an element of that funding to be made available in grants. To my mind if this package is a mixture of loans and grants.
“My expectation is that the National League will continue. Whether that’s the same for the leagues below I don’t know. It seems less likely.
“Our planning has always been on the season being completed. We have that obligation and that’s what we’re working on now.”