Grassroots clubs will go to the wall without financial support, MP warns
Grassroots football clubs across the region are in danger of going to the wall as a result of the Covid shutdown, an MP has warned.
Shaun Bailey MP urged Ministers to bring in urgent support for local clubs he said were at "a real risk" of failing to survive the restrictions.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told MPs that grassroots sports would be among the first areas of society to reopen once it was deemed safe to do so.
Leagues in England below the Premier League and the Championship saw their seasons cancelled when the country locked down in March, and all amateur football has now been suspended until at least December 2 due to the second national lockdown.
Mr Bailey, the Conservative MP for West Bromwich West, told the Commons: "I am really proud in my constituency to represent two fantastic football clubs, Tipton Town Football Club and Tividale Football Club, which at the moment are at a real risk of closing as a result of Covid."
He asked for reassurances that the Government will do "whatever it can" to support them, and invited Ministers to come and see the "fantastic work they do in the community".
In response Mr Dowden said: "I am immensely disappointed that the current situation and the position that we are in, but I know that football clubs – large and small – make a huge contribution to their communities, on and off the pitch.
"I can assure my honourable friend they won’t be forgotten.
"As soon as we are in a position to start lifting restrictions, grassroots sports will be one of the first to return.
"But until then, we have made sure that families can continue exercising throughout this lockdown, so I'd urge people to get out and get fit."
Meanwhile Solihull MP Julian Knight, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, warned that up to 15 professional clubs could potentially go under due to the virus, "ringing the heart out of our communities".
He called for Premier League clubs to "finally put the squabbing aside and come to a proper deal for the good of the game".
Premier League boss Richard Masters and EFL chairman Rick Parry have been called before a parliamentary committee in an effort to break the deadlock over a financial rescue package.
The EFL has rejected a Premier League offer of £50m for League One and League Two clubs, saying it "falls some way short" of the required amount.
A total of 66 National League clubs have received £10m in funding from The National Lottery so they can continue to play behind closed doors.
