Premier League gives £20m to community, advances £125m to lower leagues and will discuss deferrals

The league has also indefinitely pushed back its April 30 aspiration for the resumption of English football after Friday's meeting between the game's key stakeholders.

Top-flight footballers had come under increasing political pressure to share the economic burden of the coronavirus pandemic at a time when an increasing number of clubs were furloughing non-playing staff.

Bradford City, Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and York City have all furloughed staff this week, and in the case of Bradford, Doncaster and York, players as well as non-playing employees. They will now receive sums equivalent to 80 per cent of their wages from the Government via its Job Retention Scheme. The five Yorkshire league clubs will make up the remaining 20 per cent themselves. Conference North York's employees will not get that luxury, but chairman Jason MacGill has promised to pay the 80 per cent himself if they do not return to work before the open-ended scheme ceases.

Against that backdrop, the lack of concrete action from the Premier League, global football's richest domestic competition, was starting to jar, but after talks with bodies such as the Football League, Professional Footballer's Association and League Managers' Association, they announced a range of measures on Friday afternoon.

The Premier League has announced it will immediately provide £20m to support “ the NHS, communities, families and vulnerable groups”. Shortly before the announcement it emerged the Premier League captains had a separate meeting to discuss a donation to the NHS by the players.

As well as a direct contribution to the NHS, funds will be provided to help clubs “develop significant outreach programmes to help communities, including those most in need.”

Most clubs have already been extremely active in supporting their communities, via their charitable foundations and other means, during the pandemic, something the league was understandably keen to stress. They also highlighted their commitment to spreading important health messages.

The lack of football is causing major cash-flow problems in world football, particularly lower down the leagues, and it was unanimously decided to bring forward £125m of solidarity payments, parachute payments and academy grants to the Football League and National League clubs, which extend down to Conference South and North, where York play.

On player wages, the unanimously-agreed commitment was only “to consult their players regarding a combination of conditional reductions and deferrals amounting to 30 per cent of total annual remuneration.”

The Premier League, Football League, Women's Super League and Championship also bowed to the inevitable in accepting English football would not resume at the start of May. Initially matches were held off until April 3, which was then revised until “at least 30th”. No new target date has been set.

It remains “a combined objective for all remaining domestic league and cup matches to be played, enabling us to maintain the integrity of each competition.”

Leeds United and Rotherham United are in the automatic promotion spots in the Championship and League One respectively, while Barnsley are in the second tier's relegation zone.

Sheffield United are seventh in the Premier League with a game in hand on the teams directly above. That could bring European qualification for the first time, pending the status of a potential Manchester City appeal against their suspension for financial fair play irregularities. The Blades are also in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

UEFA were joint signatories on a letter to its leagues and clubs on Thursday explaining their working group was drawing up plans in case a July/August conclusion to the season was possible, and stressing that leagues which ended their campaigns early without permission might not be allowed into the 2020-21 Champions League and Europa League competitions.

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