The EFL have announced a £50million support package to help football clubs during the Coronavirus-enforced suspension of matches and has resolved to ‘deliver a successful conclusion to the 2019/20 season’.
Football League bigwigs met today to discuss the implications of the COVID-19 outbreak for the League and its 72 clubs, including Luton Town, having last week suspended all fixtures until at least April 3.
It has left an inactive period where clubs in the EFL will suffer through the lack of income, with Hatters chief executive Gary Sweet saying they would be ‘hit quite severely‘.
To mitigate the immediate cashflow issues, the EFL has tonight agreed a short-term relief package of £50million.
A statement said: ‘This fund consists of the remaining Basic Award payments being advanced to clubs immediately, with the remainder made up through interest-free loan facility available to clubs, calculated in line with the EFL’s Article of Associations.
‘The cash injection is included as part of a series of measures, that includes potential Government support to help clubs and their associated businesses through this period of uncertainty. The EFL welcomes last night’s announcement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and is continuing discussions to understand how our clubs can access the funding made available to support businesses.
‘In addition, we will continue our discussions with our football partners to determine how we can all get through this difficult, challenging and unprecedented situation.’
While the health and safety of players, club employees and supporters will remain central to all decisions the EFL make, going forwards, they also said in a statement that, ‘The primary objective, in order to protect competition integrity, is to deliver a successful conclusion to the 2019/20 season, subject to the over-riding priority around health and well-being.
‘Plans continue to be developed on the agreed principle that it is in the best interests of the EFL and Clubs to complete the current season at the appropriate time.
‘The EFL is continuing regular dialogue with the Government and relevant health authorities and, as and when more information is known regarding the scale and extent of the coronavirus outbreak in this country, a decision will be taken on the resumption of the League’s fixtures.’
