National League clubs ‘will go to the wall’ without government U-turn
Words by ITV News Sports Producer Daniel Salisbury-Jones
A National League board member has claimed clubs "will go to the wall within weeks" unless the government makes a U-turn on funding. A row has developed between the league and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport after a miscommunication meant clubs thought they were getting handouts when, in fact, they were loans. The National League, which represents the 66 clubs in the top two tiers of non-league football, are set to vote on whether to stop the season. Yeovil Town chairman Scott Priestnall told ITV News: “You will see clubs over the next two, three, four weeks going to the wall if they do not change their stance on loans versus grants. “They have to U-turn, they have to provide grants. The biggest rationale behind that is very clear, clubs can’t repay loans. We are not organisations that make lots of profit.”
The season is now hanging on a knife-edge as clubs decide whether to battle on or cut their losses and place staff on furlough. The lower tier National Leagues North and South have already suspended their divisions for two weeks.
“[The vote] could go either way to be honest with you. But there are financial implications both ways for the clubs and I don’t think we’re going to get away from that," Priestnall said. “Now we started the season with the grant funding, clubs have taken on contractual obligations, they’ve taken on new players, and the seriousness is if this season stopped it doesn’t mean safety finance wise for those clubs. “In fact, it’s very much the other side, we will have to place players and staff again on furlough and the cost of that to the public purse is far more than the amount of money that would be what we’re talking about in terms of the grant funding. “Clubs could still go to the wall with putting players and staff on furlough because they must still meet a financial requirement now until the end of the season.”
Wrexham have already said they will abstain in any vote after they were excluded from the £11m emergency Sport England funding as they are based in Wales. Priestnall explained how the National League could have avoided the situation but chose not to. “It’s very, very difficult because Wrexham is a club based in Wales, these loans directly from Sport England don’t become available to them.
"If the National League were to take a loan directly from Sport England for all 66 clubs then obviously all 66 clubs would be available for those loans but our clubs spoke against taking a loan on for the whole league," he said.
On Step 1 and 2 National League funding, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “With precious public money, we are providing financial support to the National League Steps 1 and 2 in the form of loans.
"However if clubs at those levels can demonstrate it needs grant funding urgently to survive, we will ensure that option is available.
"We will not let clubs go to the wall. Applications will be assessed by the independent Board, through the same rigorous process that we apply to other sports.”