TAXPAYERS to bail out struggling non-league football teams as government launches £20million Covid rescue package – while mega-rich Premier League clubs refuse to help out

• Clubs in non-league will be handed a £20m bail-out from the Government  
• National League clubs feared closure after the government banned fans 
• Premier League clubs have already splashed out £1.1BILLION on transfers in this transfer window but have not responded to pleas to help out smaller clubs
• The Premier League's total wage bill is a staggering £3.2billion
• Fans are furious that taxpayer cash - rather than Premier League riches - are being used to help the struggling clubs 
• Government also wants to hear from individual clubs in other sports to  

National League clubs will receive an emergency cash bailout from the Government to allow their season to start this weekend, at a cost to the taxpayer of up to £3m a month.

The controversial £20m handout will mean the three leagues - the National League, the National League North and the National League South - can start their seasons this weekend.

Many of the 67 clubs faced financial ruin without the match day revenue they rely on after the Government announced fans would not be allowed into stadiums from October 1 as had been planned.

But the clubs have now been told the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is working on a package of support to cover 'essential lost revenue' so the season can start.

The handout was confirmed today in the House of Commons by Nigel Huddleston MP, the Digital, Culture and Sport Minister.

He said clubs were the 'heartbeats of their communities' and said the government has no choice but to shelve the return of fans. 

'We've had constructive discussions with the Premier League and EFL about their role. It is fair that those with the broadest shoulders share the burden, and they accept that'.

Football has been one of many sports begging the Government for financial aid in recent months. But many believe wealthier clubs should be stepping in to help smaller, struggling teams, rather than the taxpayer.

The handout for the National League comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week unveiled his latest business bailout which economists estimated could cost £5bn, potentially taking the total of the Government's Covid-19 support to £200bn.

CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS

National League and many EFL clubs say the Covid-19 pandemic has left them on the brink of financial ruin. 

Yet Premier League clubs have once again spent big on new players, with Chelsea spending an eye-watering £89m to get German star Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 21-year-old is the most expensive transfer this summer with Manchester City’s £64m acquisition of Ruben Dias, a new club record for Pep Guardiola’s side, the second most expensive in the Premier League in this window.

Havertz’s Germany team-mate Timo Werner ranks third after his £54m move from RB Leipzig to Chelsea.

Meanwhile, official statistics published last week showed the UK's public sector debt continues to climb above £2 trillion - a record high. 

The Government is therefore likely to face intense scrutiny over its decision to further add to the coronavirus bill by paying out £20m to lower league teams especially after Premier League clubs splashed out £1.1bn on transfers in the current transfer window. 

There has been a deafening silence from the top clubs when lower level clubs - both in the EFL and further down the football pyramid - have asked for financial help during the unprecedented crisis. 

While some clubs are sceptical about providing EFL clubs with a handout, others — primarily the smaller clubs — are far more sympathetic.

There is a growing acceptance that top-flight clubs will have to inject cash into the EFL to keep several teams afloat, knowing that not doing so will have grave consequences and will damage the Premier League's image.

Some club officials want to avoid a scenario where it appears they are offering financial support under duress; or, even worse, not giving them any money at all.

There is a belief that the Government are reluctant to include the Premier League and EFL in a financial relief fund for UK sport after plans to reintroduce fans were scrapped on Tuesday.

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National League clubs are to receive government funding to allow their season to commence. But they will play in empty stadiums rather than in front of fans (above at Halifax)While news of the bail-out was welcomed by employees and supporters of non-league clubs, others felt it was not the duty of the British taxpayer to fit the bill to help these teams.

'Its almost like the govt doesn't expect to get any of this money back or repay their enormous borrowings back,’ one critical fan wrote on Twitter.

'Think they've forgotten whose money they are giving away, it's not govts money, it's our money, the British taxpayers.’

Twitter account, The Away Section, which focuses on supporters at the grass-roots level, was equally scathing, insisting the £20m would be ‘paid back in the long term’.

They wrote: What a waste of money - nothing to celebrate really. On one hand its good clubs will get this crisis softened but there really is no sense in this??. Plus govt's don't give money away for free - don't believe that. We will all pay in the long term.'

Another called on non-league fans to take a stand against the Premier League as it is the government, not the 20 top-flight teams, providing the cash to ease the financial worries of teams at step five and six in English football.

'If the Premier League decide they can’t spare some change for the National League clubs, I hope all Non League fans respond by cancelling their TV subscriptions to the sports channels,’ he wrote.

Yet Brighton chief executive Paul Barber, speaking today on Radio 5 Live, said it was unreasonable to demand Premier League clubs riude to the rescue while they, too, were suffering from the absence of fans. 

'We're being asked to support the football pyramid, but what we're asking for is to be able to sustain our own businesses to put us in a better position to be able to do that,' he said.

One fan described how the Dias money could have funded the entire lower league for a year 

In a show of defiance, a non-league fan called on supporters to boycott sport TV subscriptions

The reaction to the news was not all positive as one user felt it was not the responsibility of the British taxpayer to step up and bail-out clubs operating in non-league

The Away Section described the Government bail-out as a 'waste of money' long term

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Manchester City's £64m signing of Ruben Dias left non-league fans irritated that Premier League clubs have not offered money to help clubs lower down the football pyramid

Earlier this week a letter co-signed by 17 individuals including former Football Association chairmen Greg Dyke and Lord Triesman and BBC and BT Sport pundit Robbie Savage and 10 MPs said help was urgently needed to ward off the threat of financial collapse. 

The letter, sent to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden warned:  'Without any plans being made to rescue clubs, many in the EFL and others in the National League as well, are now actively preparing to make all but essential staff redundant, cease playing, close down their youth academies and community foundations, and put their business into administration,' the letter warns.

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BBC and BT Sport pundit Robbie Savage (left) and former FA chief Greg Dyke (right) both signed the letter with clubs in the EFL standing to lose £200m without crowds this season

The letter sent to Dowden in full

We wrote to you in May this year setting out the financial crisis facing football clubs, and particularly those in the English Football League (EFL), because of the loss of match-day revenue resulting from the government's policies to combat COVID-19. We also detailed a game plan that could be put in place to prevent this. Since then clubs have been able to sustain themselves through advance season ticket sales, solidarity payments from the Premier League, and had agreed to start playing the new season in the belief that fans would be allowed to return to stadiums this autumn.

It's now clear that spectators will not be back in EFL grounds, even in limited numbers, for the foreseeable future. As a consequence clubs will not only lose this budgeted-for income, but will also have to refund season tickets to fans who will now be prevented from attending matches.

There has been no agreement reached by the football authorities on a bailout for clubs that need it, many of whom were already heavily indebted before the coronavirus arrived. From the statements made by ministers at DCMS questions in the House of Commons on 24 September, it's equally clear that the government has no current proposals to provide financial support, and nor is it prepared to offer any guarantees for the future.

Without any plans being made to rescue football clubs, many in the EFL and others in the National League as well, are now actively preparing to make all but essential staff redundant, cease playing, close down their youth academies and community foundations, and put their business into administration. This could lead not only to the failure of many historic community clubs, but the collapse of the national league structure that we have known for over one hundred years. These are decisions that will be made in the coming weeks, with many clubs unable to meet their payroll obligations for next month.

There is still time to act, but not long left. The government made £1.5billion available to rescue arts and cultural organisations across the country that faced closure because of the coronavirus. We believe that football, like other well-loved professional sports in this country, is also a cultural activity. We would ask that the government now make clear what financial support it's prepared to give before it is too late. In particular, we believe that in order for clubs to sustain themselves over the winter and keep playing, they would need to be compensated for the loss of match ticket sales. The absence of this income is not a result of their actions, but the policies that have been put in place by the government in response to a public health emergency.

We understand that you had hoped that the Premier League clubs might make a significant additional contribution to support the EFL. Whilst this would be welcome those clubs too face swingeing losses from lost ticketing receipts and falling revenues from broadcasting matches. However, it cannot be the Premier League's sole responsibility to sort out issues arising from government policy. The government itself needs to take responsibility, or many already-embattled towns - often in areas of the country which have suffered many hardships in recent decades - will lose their last focal point.

SIGNATORIES

Damian Collins MP, former Chairman of the DCMS select committee

Charlie Methven, co-owner Sunderland FC

Lord David Triesman, former Chairman of the FA

Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Vice-President The National League

Lord Goddard of Stockport

Malcolm Clarke, Chairman of the Football Supporters Association

Robbie Savage, former player and sports broadcaster

Greg Dyke, former Chairman of the FA

Karl McCartney MP for Lincoln and Chairman of the APPG for Football

Ian Mearns MP for Gateshead and Chairman of the APPG for Football Supporters

David Amess MP for Southend West

Rehman Chishti MP for Gillingham

Damian Green MP for Ashford and member of the DCMS Select Committee

Kevin Brennan MP for Cardiff West and member of the DCMS Select Committee