Different Tiers

[santheman]

Was having a discussion with a player today about the new level of tiers coming in next week and how it would affect football.

If a player lived in (say Glasgow) but played for an Ayrshire team and Glasgow was on a higher tier that stipulated no travel outside their own area would he still be able to travel and play or would he be exempt under his " professional" status.

Both of us weren't really sure so wondered what the official position is

[FairWeatherFan]

13 minutes ago, santheman said:

Was having a discussion with a player today about the new level of tiers coming in next week and how it would affect football.

If a player lived in (say Glasgow) but played for an Ayrshire team and Glasgow was on a higher tier that stipulated no travel outside their own area would he still be able to travel and play or would he be exempt under his " professional" status.

Both of us weren't really sure so wondered what the official position is

As long as nowhere falls under Tier 4, then they should be fine to continue as they've been defined as falling under the professional category.

[santheman]

28 minutes ago, FairWeatherFan said:

As long as nowhere falls under Tier 4, then they should be fine to continue as they've been defined as falling under the professional category.

So if Glasgow and Lanarkshire were put at say level 4/5 but Ayrshire/Lothian at level 2/3 it would still be ok for a player to travel between areas?

[DanMan]

Is it not the same as going to your work ??

[FairWeatherFan]

13 hours ago, santheman said:

So if Glasgow and Lanarkshire were put at say level 4/5 but Ayrshire/Lothian at level 2/3 it would still be ok for a player to travel between areas?

I would say as long as nowhere is Level 4 then travelling is fine as it falls under the 'professional sport' exemption. As rightly or wrongly its considered a job.

Its only at Level 4 that professional contact sports and most other close contact services would close.

[santheman]

Cheers 

I would say it’s almost a certainty that Glasgow and Lanarkshire will be in the higher range if numbers don’t start reducing.

[stulch]

I would say as long as nowhere is Level 4 then travelling is fine as it falls under the 'professional sport' exemption. As rightly or wrongly its considered a job.
Its only at Level 4 that professional contact sports and most other close contact services would close.

Am I reading your screenshot wrong for level 4?

[stulch]

Doesn't it say Professional permitted for each level?

[FairWeatherFan]

1 hour ago, stulch said:

Doesn't it say Professional permitted for each level?

Seems to be the case.

[LongTimeLurker]

6 hours ago, stulch said:

Doesn't it say Professional permitted for each level?

Yes, and that means there is no reason to anticipate a government imposed shutdown for COVID-19 regulation reasons. Difficult to overstate now how critical it was to get leagues like the WoS acknowledged as professional by the SG when the "circuit breaker" was being implemented. The next step will be securing financial support for any professional clubs that get stuck in tiers 2 and 3 playing games with closed stadiums. The funds opened up to the SG by the Barnett formula when the UK government starts providing support to affected businesses in England under their three level system should open the door for that.

It is now in the regulations that professional football clubs are being stopped from doing something that they would be able to do at tiers 0 and 1 in a Scottish context that damages their business financially when higher tiers are imposed, so the SG appears to have prepared the ground for it. The last thing the SNP needs in the run up to a Holyrood election is lots of angry football fans going mental over the demise of their clubs so good things should happen.

Edited October 25, 2020 by LongTimeLurker

[Dev]

I hear that the National Lottery may have provided some help in Northern Ireland. 

Has anyone-else heard this?

It was talked about at the end of the TNS v Haverfordwest game yesterday on the Welsh TV Channel  S4C. Cracking game too.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Dev
.

[Dev]

£10 million lifeline from the National Lottery for National League football announced by Culture Secretary

National League clubs are to receive National Lottery support to keep them afloat through pandemic following unique deal brokered by government

Published 18 October 2020

From:

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP

Will help much-loved local teams play this season and allow clubs to continue vital work in their communities

UK Government now working with the National Lottery to ensure similar initiative with Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland FAs

Government work continues to expedite the safe return of fans in England

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has today announced that National League football clubs will receive £10 million funding as part of a unique partnership with The National Lottery.

The support will benefit the 66 clubs in the fifth and six tiers of English football, so that they can continue to play behind closed doors after the return of fans was paused due to rising infection rates.

Alongside the support for clubs, National Lottery players will also get a range of benefits – including free tickets once stadia are safe to reopen, grassroots football opportunities, and VIP experiences at Wembley Stadium.

It comes after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport assured the National League that emergency financial support would be forthcoming so that it was able to start the season earlier this month. All 66 clubs are playing football this season as a result.

The £10 million emergency support package, which will reach clubs quickly via the Football Association (FA), is in recognition of the important role National League clubs play in their local areas – being a source of pride to their towns, giving children opportunities to get active, and being at the heart of their communities.

Many clubs and their supporters have also been very active in their areas throughout the pandemic, rallying round to help the elderly and isolated, and raising money for front-line charities.

Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary, said:

I know from a brilliant club in my area that National League football clubs are the beating heart of their communities and too precious to lose. This £10 million fund will provide a bridge to help clubs survive this immediate crisis whilst we work together on the safe return of fans.

I’m very grateful to National Lottery players for getting help to these community clubs so quickly.

Nigel Railton, Chief Executive of National Lottery operator Camelot, said:

The National Lottery has been making a huge difference to communities across the country for the past 26 years, so we’re delighted to be working with the National League and FA to protect these essential clubs and help them to continue the vital work they carry out in their local communities.

Millions of National Lottery players love football, so our partnership will also see them receive a range of great benefits. It’s our way of saying thank you to our players, who make a difference every time they buy a ticket.

Mark Bullingham, FA Chief Executive, said:

This financial support is crucial as these clubs are the heartbeat of their communities and it would be a travesty if they were not able to survive. We have worked hard with the National League, Government and The National Lottery to make this happen and would like to thank everyone involved.

The return of fans to stadiums remains a priority for us and we will continue to work with the Government and stakeholders across the game to reintroduce spectators in a safe way as soon as possible.

This initiative is with the FA and National League, and the UK Government is now working with the National Lottery to ensure similar initiatives with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland FAs.

Funding will be distributed to each of the 66 National League clubs to help cover their lost gate revenue from the delay to fans being permitted to return, that was originally scheduled for 1 October. The decision was taken to pause this relaxation of the rules on 22 September, in order to stem rising coronavirus infection rates across the country.

Work continues to ensure fans can return to sporting events as soon as the public health picture allows. This includes the Sports Technology Innovation Group (STIG) – made up of medical experts including Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam, sports authorities, and representatives from the tech sector – which is looking at innovative solutions to enable the return of spectators without the need for a coronavirus vaccine. The STIG will make recommendations to the government.

Today’s announcement builds on support the government has already given the sport sector to help it stay afloat during this difficult time. Sport England announced a £210 million emergency fund, largely enabled by National Lottery funding, for grassroots clubs, and earlier this year the Government stepped in to protect rugby league with £16 million in emergency loans.

These interventions were on top of the multi-billion pound package of business support from the Treasury that enabled many sports clubs to survive, including the furlough scheme and business interruption loan scheme. From 1 November, businesses can claim under the new Job Support Scheme, which has been extended to help those required to close due to coronavirus restrictions, including sports venues.

The Government is also working at pace with sports governing bodies and clubs across the country to fully assess what support is needed as a result of the decision to postpone the return of spectators from 1 October.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The money for the initiative is coming from a National Lottery promotional fund. It is not being funded by money allocated for National Lottery Good Causes or by Camelot.

[Andy groundhopper]

Uproar over the National League handouts, the bigger clubs moaning like normal. Think they tried to base the money on average home gates or something like that, I thought that was sensible. English FA say clubs can't go from tier 3 to another tier 3, or from 3 to 2. Good to see so many games in the NW and NE of England getting played. More difficult in Scotland when players are travelling or are based away from their clubs.

[Mystic Blastie]

Yes, and that means there is no reason to anticipate a government imposed shutdown for COVID-19 regulation reasons. Difficult to overstate now how critical it was to get leagues like the WoS acknowledged as professional by the SG when the "circuit breaker" was being implemented. The next step will be securing financial support for any professional clubs that get stuck in tiers 2 and 3 playing games with closed stadiums. The funds opened up to the SG by the Barnett formula when the UK government starts providing support to affected businesses in England under their three level system should open the door for that.
It is now in the regulations that professional football clubs are being stopped from doing something that they would be able to do at tiers 0 and 1 in a Scottish context that damages their business financially when higher tiers are imposed, so the SG appears to have prepared the ground for it. The last thing the SNP needs in the run up to a Holyrood election is lots of angry football fans going mental over the demise of their clubs so good things should happen.

I understand that if the players are classed as professional then they can travel for work. How are the rest of the club officials at each game classed. Would imagine they are mostly volunteers so are they OK to travel between health authorities at present and between local authorities when the level system commences?

[Andy groundhopper]

3 hours ago, gogsy said:

Some of the bigger clubs at that National  league level would be full time or more likely to have full time employees?

Yeah think there are still quite a few ex EFL clubs staying full time, don't know if that warrants getting more money or not - guess all clubs need help at the moment.

[Andy groundhopper]

Any news about the lunatic lockdown affecting the game in Scotland ? Looks like we're gonna miss out again down in England, already rumours of clubs wanting to pull out /  some leagues now worried that it's nothing until 2021, BUT the FA Cup can go ahead this weekend, ridiculous.