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Next Game: Rushall At Home In The League On Saturday 30th November At 3.00pm

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Graham writes to National League to express concerns over grant allocation



Hereford chairman Andrew Graham has written to The National League Board to express concerns over how the initial grants were allocated.

Representing 11 clubs, Graham says that, had some clubs had known how much they would have received, they may not have wished to have started the season and trigger onerous contractual commitments.

“The one irrefutable fact is that the Government / National Lottery funding was earmarked to cover clubs’ ‘lost gate revenues’, i.e. shortfalls in income through the turnstiles as a result of Government preventing fans from returning to stadia and we cannot accept the use of any other determining factors," said Graham.

“When Government funding was first announced on the above basis, it encouraged some clubs to agree to start the season without fans present in their grounds, because they knew they would be compensated for this very problem. 

“Whilst we at Hereford are fortunate to be in a slightly stronger position than most clubs, we understand that had some clubs have known that they would effectively be operating, somewhat under economic duress, in an unsustainable manner, they may well not have wished to start the season and thereby trigger onerous contractual commitments.”

The National League Board will be meeting on November 5 to review their position.

You can read Graham's full statement here.