South Shields FC, FC United of Manchester and Scarborough Athletic in urgent call for Government help after missing out on £10million National Lottery 'lifeline'

The Mariners, along with FC United of Manchester and Scarborough Athletic, wrote to the Government earlier this month outlining the gravity of the situation facing clubs at their level as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions now in place around crowd sizes and restrictions or bans on the sale of food and beverage in stadiums adding they felt abandoned.

In the hard-hitting letter to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden they say the new restrictions, as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, ‘are in danger of forcing us out of existence’.

The three Northern Premier League clubs operate at step 3 of the Non-League System, the highest level designated as ‘grassroots’ under current Covid regulations, meaning they are permitted limited crowds but that is still 1,300 fans fewer than their average gate last season.

The clubs are yet to hear back from the Government yet it was confirmed clubs in the National League, North and South would receive a £10million lifeline from the National Lottery.

It does not apply to clubs below step 2 of the non-league pyramid, infuriating the likes of South Shields.

A lengthy joint statement read: “It is hugely disappointing that we have not heard back from anyone in government or at the FA to open dialogue or even to acknowledge our situation. The information from our league continues to be that there is no similar lifeline for clubs below step 2 of the non-league system even though a number are in a perilous position.

“It was made clear by Nigel Huddleston in Parliament that the subsidy, arranged through the National Lottery, is to compensate for lost gate receipts and it was announced yesterday that the National League clubs will receive amounts varying between £30,000 and £95,000 a month for a minimum of 3 months. This will then be reviewed with potentially further grants available.

“Our 3 clubs do not begrudge that those clubs have received compensation for lost gate receipt revenue. Their argument, that they are sustainable businesses at the heart of their local communities who have been made unsustainable by government restrictions outside their control, resonates with us and we are in agreement that support should be offered in these circumstances.

"However, we were led to believe in the concept of a football family and a National League System spanning from step 1 in the National League down to Step 6.

"The actions of the government in abandoning clubs below Step 2 and the National League’s self-interested negotiations, added to a lack of transparency around decision making have shown this concept up for the sham that it is.

"Oliver Dowden was quoted that “We are all agreed the Premier League needs to step up to the plate” and provide assistance to the EFL. How shallow those words now sound to us grassroots clubs who have been abandoned by his government.”

The statement added: “An example of the sheer absurdity of our situation is that South Shields and FC United have battled through to the 4th Qualifying round of the FA Cup and on Saturday will host National League side Halifax Town who are subsidised to the tune of £84,000 a month and National League North side Guiseley who are subsidised £30,000 a month.

"We receive zero in subsidy which ensures that it will not be a level playing field, but to add insult to injury, regulations require that we must split our limited match-day gate and streaming receipts 50/50 with our subsidised opponents.

“Our 3 clubs highlighted that we were a handful of clubs caught between the elite and grassroots with capacity restrictions which couldn’t keep us sustainable. Since then the situation has deteriorated for a growing number of grassroots clubs who initially were able to make restrictions work for them.

"As the pandemic 2nd wave increasingly spreads across the country, grassroots clubs have seen capacities further cut beyond the national guidelines and restrictions or bans on the sale of food and beverage in stadiums and in the use of social clubs. We don’t have lucrative TV or sponsorship deals and those 3 revenue streams are what we rely on for the vast majority of our income.

"We understand that the elite clubs can’t operate with crowds because of a decision directly taken by government and so government has directly stepped in. We understand that the growing list of restrictions beyond what was agreed with the DCMS for grassroots are on the whole imposed by local County FAs and local authorities but the government should not side-step responsibility for our situations just because for us the decisions are being taken at a local level. At a time of national crisis, government actions are what are ultimately driving local authorities to act.

“This not just about us but about recognising that grassroots football matters. It matters to our supporters, to our communities and to the wider football structure which needs us as a stepping stone to elite.

“We therefore call on government and the FA ‘to step up to the plate’ and engage through the non-league Alliance Committee to secure additional relief for affected clubs from the impact of local restrictions. This should include measures to compensate clubs for the significant loss of food and beverage revenue by recognising them as hospitality businesses and to recognise Covid-secure environments by raising capacities for clubs significantly disadvantaged by national and local restrictions or else to provide a compensation package appropriate to losses suffered in the same way as provided for the National League.

“We also call on other affected clubs to join us in making their voices heard in public and through their local MPs. As three step 3 clubs we are an irrelevance to those in power but as a block of thousands of grassroots clubs, supporters and constituents we can be heard. Grassroots football must not be abandoned.

Adrian Seddon, Chair of the Board of FC United of Manchester

Geoff Thompson, Chairman of South Shields FC

Trevor Bull, Chairman of Scarborough Athletic FC”