KATE OSBORNE: Action is needed now to keep non-league football afloat

On Saturday afternoon, Jarrow FC play host to Warrington Rylands in the biggest game of their history, whereas Hebburn Town play host to another huge game against local rivals North Shields.

It’s a huge weekend for both clubs, but sadly no fans are allowed to attend due to the government standing firm on their decision not to allow supporters into games in tier three areas.

Although the tier classification is set to be reviewed next Wednesday, it is feared that the current restrictions could last much longer.

What this means is that clubs are expected to play fixtures behind closed doors but without receiving any of the vital match day income they purely rely on.

It’s important to remember that these clubs will still have to fork out all of the usual costs that go into running a football club.

For example, clubs will be using floodlights over the winter for their weekend and midweek games and there will still be the fees to be paid for match officials.

And, of course, there’s the usual regular bills to run changing rooms whilst many clubs will have players wages to budget for.

Clubs simply cannot be expected to pay for all this whilst there is very little money coming in.

Football clubs such as Jarrow FC, Hebburn Town, and South Shields, are community assets and an important expression of individual and local identity; they deserve urgent support to secure their future.

I know these clubs have put a huge amount of effort and cost into putting Covid secure measures in place in anticipation for their return to footballing action following the end of the second lockdown on December 2nd.

What makes this worse is that before the second lockdown, fans were allowed into non-league games with limited attendances and clubs such as Jarrow and Hebburn Town were working hard to make them as safe as possible for supporters. To rub salt into already gaping wounds, it was previously deemed unsafe for fans to return to professional grounds but now teams in tier one and two are allowed up to 4,000 and 2,000 supporters respectively.

Of course, they will be expected to follow social distancing guidelines but surely non-league clubs could still follow the guidelines and be allowed some fans in?

Now it’s time for common sense to prevail for non-league football teams, many have hundreds of fans plus in grounds at this level which means it is a safe and socially distanced environment.

The current guidelines mean that we can have a club in the non-league that can host fans at their ground for Under-23 and junior level, yet bizarrely, the first team cannot have fans at a game.

Jarrow FC, Hebburn Town and South Shields FC, all of whom are in the Jarrow constituency, are all severely affected by this.

And it would be disastrous for our local community if these clubs are forced to go out of business. Under the previous Tier 3 restrictions non-league clubs could host fans, so what’s changed?

Last week I wrote to the Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, calling on him to consider amending the Tier 3 restrictions regarding non-league football and adopt a common sense approach because football without fans is nothing. No matter what level.

Clubs in the non-league need clarity, common sense and support. Instead, they are being presented with difficulties in arguably the toughest period of their existence.

The footballing authorities should have had a clear and realistic post-lockdown plan to keep non-league football afloat either through grants or games, but haven’t.

They need to act now, or parts of the league pyramid which is so important to the game in this country could disappear for good.