'Absolute disgrace' Hungerford FC Chairman hits out over funding row
The National League South has been suspended in a dispute over the type of funding that was promised
Last updated 25th Jan 2021
The Chairman of Hungerford Town FC says he feels "empty" after the national league south was suspended at the weekend in a row over funding.
National League South is just two divisions below the full-time football league system and Hungerford have been enjoying a successful season in which they were pushing for promotion to the national league.
Chairman Patrick Chambers says the row is over whether this part of the season was to be funded by a grant or a loan. In a club statement he said:
"It is important that everyone realises that this decision has nothing to do with safety or the COVID pandemic and evidence of this, is that the National league continues.
"This is purely down to the fact that no funding is currently available by way of grant to finance clubs in the absence of fans, despite assurances back in October that further grants would be available for January, February & March if still playing behind closed doors.
"Hungerford Town FC would not have commenced the season on any other basis and triggered player contracts.
"This is an absolute disgrace and we have been misled in no uncertain terms. "
He says they started the season believing that they would receive a further grant but now they have been told that wasn't the case and the money will be offered as a loan.
Mr Chambers now has a meeting on Friday with local MP Laura Farris.
He says the potential consequences are catastrophic and the initial 10m grant would have been wasted and the cost of furloughing staff and players would dwarf the 11m at a huge cost to the tax payer. He continues:
"To be clear, if the FA, NL & DCMS suspended the season temporarily on safety concerns due to the pandemic, I would 100% support that direction, but not due to the unforgivable way the club has been misled over finances.
"There is now a real threat that Step 2 may well see the season become null and void after all the hard work and COVID protocols put in place and not least the vast amount of money spent thus far."
The DCMS says grants were never discussed for the second part of the season.