What does this mean for the SSML? and non league ⚽?

[Rhodes]

This should be interesting folks and put the cat amongst the pigeons, Ollie Bayliss has submitted a 'Freedom of Information (FoI)' request to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in relation to the National League grants v loans debacle, lets see what the DCMS come back with:

[Rhodes]

National League South Hungerford Town Chairman Patrick Chambers has made a hard hitting statement. Also, laughably, some National League Club's such, as Hartlepool United and Notts County, were all in favour of the League taking on a loan and then distributing money to Club's, they would be wouldn't they:

‘We have been misled in no uncertain terms’ – Hungerford Town chairman | Non League Daily

National League set to hold crunch talks with government over DCMS funding as 2020-21 season hangs in the balance | Hartlepool Mail

'At the Zoom meeting last Wednesday, I was assured that both the FA and NL were at those meetings with the DCMS back in late September/early October and that they are 100% certain that loans were never discussed and believed funding would be available by way of grants. The Winter Sports Funding package of £300m was announced back in December and £11m was earmarked for the National league and North and South'.

Some clubs – including Hartlepool United and Notts County – were in favour of the National League taking on the loan and redistributing it to its clubs as grants in order to allow the season to continue. But following a Board meeting on Friday, the league made a u-turn on this option and informed clubs that it would no longer be viable.

[Rhodes]

I see that, following the assessment of the FA survey sent to its Club's and returned, the Kent County League (Steps 7 to 10) feel that completing the full season will soon be impossible and will now take direction will from the Kent FA, that is despite 75% of Club's who completed the survey saying that they 'wish to restart the season and play football as soon as they are able to do so'. What was the point of having the survey then.

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, Rhodes said:

I see that, following the assessment of the FA survey sent to its Club's and returned, the Kent County League (Steps 7 to 10) feel that completing the full season will soon be impossible and will now take direction will from the Kent FA, that is despite 75% of Club's who completed the survey saying that they 'wish to restart the season and play football as soon as they are able to do so'. What was the point of having the survey then.

That’s great ‘wishing to start the season and play football as soon as possibly’ but it won’t be before may so the season is f@@cked gentlemen, time to put on your big boy pants and suck it up. Even if for arguments sake we could play again and the earliest anybody could hope for would be end of March, we still wouldn’t get it finished. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Winslow Boy

[Rhodes]

Winslow Boy - To be fair I think that a lot of us are still clutching at straws in a vain hope that we can start again soon and somehow complete the season but it is pretty obvious that there is no way we will be able to particularly after hearing today's grim statistics of 1,631 new deaths taking the figure above 100,000 deaths to Covid in the UK:

UK Covid deaths pass 100,000 with 1,631 new fatalities and 20,089 cases - as Boris Johnson addresses nation (thesun.co.uk)

Edited January 26, 2021 by Rhodes

[Winslow Boy]

25 minutes ago, Rhodes said:

Winslow Boy - To be fair I think that a lot of us are still clutching at straws in a vain hope that we can start again soon and somehow complete the season but it is pretty obvious that there is no way we will be able to particularly after hearing today's grim statistics of 1,631 new deaths taking the figure above 100,000 deaths to Covid in the UK:

UK Covid deaths pass 100,000 with 1,631 new fatalities and 20,089 cases - as Boris Johnson addresses nation (thesun.co.uk)

No doubt, I would be if I had the energy for it. With competent leadership we wouldn’t be in this mess but if you vote for the clowns you end up in a circus. 

[Rhodes]

An interesting article on the BBC Sport website about the dire National League situation at the moment. It would appear that at the meetings last year between the League, FA and DCMS, where the initial funding of £10 million in grants was agreed, there was no mention of further grants being made to Club's, or any mention of loans for that matter, the National League just naively assumed further funding would be made available to them in the form of grants and didn't ask for anything in writing:

National League still to decide on 2020-21 season vote - BBC Sport

However, after speaking to numerous sources about the key conversations that did take place between government officials and representatives from the National League and Football Association, BBC Sport understands that neither the words 'grants' or 'loans' were used - and that differing interpretations have been put on the phrase 'future funding'.

[petethegreek]

 

Government confirms £10 million emergency support for steps 3-6 of the National League system

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-confirms-10-million-emergency-support-for-steps-3-6-of-the-national-league-system?fbclid=IwAR1eMgKmoorYOkt21ghliZeaWBmfEC4PABJECbkHxkdpa_ojZr6qhUWecG0

 

[Rhodes]

Yes, really good news but I will believe it when I hear our 21 Premier Division and 17 Division One Club's have banked their share of the money, Premier Division Club's are entitled to £10,500 each and Division One Club's £7,500 each, applications open tomorrow:

FWSP | Football Foundation

The Non-League Football Paper

Clubs at Steps 3-6 will receive £10 million worth of grants but funding at Step 1-2 will only be distributed in the form of loans

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston has announced that Steps 3-6 of the National League system will receive up to £10 million to protect the immediate future of approximately 850 clubs over the winter period.

But he has reiterated that the £11 million set aside from the Government’s Sports Winter Survival Package will be in the form of “very low-interest loans”, not grants, unless clubs can prove their future is at risk.

“We will not let clubs go to the wall,” Huddlestone said.

A number of clubs have already threatened to cut their season short if funding could not be assured in the form of grants until the end of the season.

The Step 3-6 funding, designed to protect the immediate future of approximately 850 football clubs across England, will be provided in the form of grants. Clubs will be contacted directly by the Football Foundation with full details and will be able to make an application from tomorrow. Funds will be distributed quickly to clubs through the Football Stadia Improvement Fund.

It is the first award to be announced from the Government’s £300 million Sports Winter Survival Package, focused on helping those major spectator sports severely impacted by coronavirus restrictions survive the winter.

In October, the Government announced it had brokered a unique deal with the National Lottery to provide a £10 million cash injection to help keep the National League, North and South divisions afloat.

Clubs will be assessed on the basis of need, with grants available where loans are demonstrated to be unaffordable for individual clubs in line with the support offered for other sports.

The Sports Winter Survival Package is a sector-specific intervention that is on top of the multi-billion pounds worth of business support that has been made available by the Government, including the furlough scheme, business rates relief and business interruption loan scheme that has helped many sports clubs survive. Football alone has accessed many hundreds of millions of pounds of support through this.

Mr Huddleston said: “We promised to support sports and target help to where it’s most needed. Today we continue to deliver on that with further support for National League football clubs.

“The National League has already benefited from the Government support schemes through a £10 million Government-brokered cash partnership with the National Lottery, and there will be more support for the bigger clubs on the way.

“Today’s £10 million grant for lower league clubs in Steps 3-6 will act as a lifeline for around 850 clubs in towns and cities across England, and help these clubs through this difficult period until we can get fans back in safely.”

On Step 1 and 2 National League funding, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston added:

“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.”

Further confirmations of funding from the Sports Winter Survival Package will be made in due course.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Rhodes

[Savagebee]

Where's all this money coming from? Will the Tax payer pay the price in the future?

[Rhodes]

A letter issued today from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to all National League Club's via the National League:

 

[Rhodes]

The letter continued. I gather that the National League have asked its Club's to respond to a formal resolution to consider the outcome of the season, this follows a Board meeting earlier today, details of the resolution and the process will be sent out to Club's on Monday:

[Rhodes]

A joint statement from sixteen National League North and South Club's, most if not all National League Club's are meeting with Sport England at 9.30 this morning (Friday) by Webinar to discuss and clarify the process for applying for funding. Loans are obviously still on the table however if some Club's imminent future is seriously at risk and they can demonstrate that loans are unaffordable to them then they may me eligible for a grant:

[Munchkin]

On 20/01/2021 at 13:13, Winslow Boy said:

It’s pretty stupid in my opinion. Play and see where it takes us? The season won’t get completed and so the season wouldn’t stand. We are where we are, people need to be pragmatic and grown up. This season is finished, they declared last season null and void. We will have two seasons ‘ruined’ we can cry about it or accept it, the sky hasn’t fallen in, football will return. We just have to wait, we don’t have to like it. I would rather not waste money putting on matches that won’t count in the end. 

Exactly. The FA made the mistake last year not postponing the last season with over 50% complete and restarting when they could.

They’ve set the precedent and this season is over as far as I’m concerned.

[Rhodes]

The Welling United Chairman, Mark Goldberg, makes a good point doesn't he, here is a statement from the National League South Club. I had to look it up to check whether this was the very same Mark Goldberg who, in 1998, paid Ron Noads nearly £24 million for Crystal Palace and it is, the Club went into administration a year later as well as being relegated from the Premier Division and Mr Goldberg was declared bankrupt in 2000:

CLUB STATEMENT | Update on current position - Welling United FC

"To not finish the season now would be inexcusable having accepted the grants to date and the Government funds could have been provided to much greater causes in the event our season now becomes null & void."

Edited January 30, 2021 by Rhodes

[Savagebee]

21 hours ago, Munchkin said:

this season is over as far as I’m concerned.

Yep it just needs to be put out of its misery now.

[Rhodes]

31 minutes ago, Savagebee said:

Yep it just needs to be put out of its misery now

What, like a dog or a cat being put down you mean, I don't think it is as simple as that and there might still be some remote possibility of saving it

[Winslow Boy]

The contingency plan if there comes a point before the end of the season where we can play, they should dive divisions into 4,5,6 local teams, let them play friendlies against each other and have a trophy for whoever comes top of these small regional groups. 

[Savagebee]

3 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

The contingency plan if there comes a point before the end of the season where we can play, they should dive divisions into 4,5,6 local teams, let them play friendlies against each other and have a trophy for whoever comes top of these small regional groups. 

Not a bad idea. Most people just want to go and watch a ⚽ match any ⚽ match.

[Smallholder]