Harrogate Town 'very worried' by financial implications of coronavirus shut down

With confirmed UK cases of highly-contagious COVID-19 increasing by the hour, the National League belatedly opted to follow the lead of the Premier League and English Football League in suspending all competition until at least April 3.

As a result, Town’s first team will not be able to fulfill scheduled home fixtures against Notts County and Barrow, and will have to manage without the revenue from ticket sales at those games, as well as bar and food takings, plus money that they would have received for matchday corporate hospitality.

In addition, the cancellation of grassroots football means that the 3G pitch at the CNG Stadium can no longer be hired out, and thus another stream of income has ceased.

“It’s very worrying, but every single football club from Manchester City down to teams beneath us in the pyramid are in the same situation,” Plant said.

“Put the football to one side, Harrogate Town is a business and we’re dealing with the complete suspension of all of our revenue streams.

“We don’t know exactly how many people we would have had through the gates for our FA Trophy semi-final against Notts County on Saturday, but we were expecting a crowd of around 3,000, which equates to a lot of money coming in, plus the bar takings and food you sell.

“As I say, we are very worried, just like everyone else, however we’ve never been in a situation like this before – nobody has – and it’s just a case of finding a way to get through it.”

Plant's words came less than 24 hours after National League rivals Barnet announced that they were set to make 60 employees redundant due to the lack of cash-flow since the coronavirus shut-down began.

While the Bees' players' jobs are secure for the time being, all coaching, academy and operational staff have been handed notice of redundancy as part of 'emergency measures to preserve the club'.

The situation that has unfolded in North London this week is one that Plant expects to become commonplace across the UK if football clubs continue to have to pay wages and other expenses with no momey coming in.

"I was surprised to see what has occurred at Barnet happen so quickly after the suspension. It was a shock that it's Barnet as well," he added.

"But, I think you'll find that there are clubs all the way down from the Championship and through the divisions who were already in dire straits financially before coronavirus hit.

"I believe that this will be the tipping point for many and we should expect to see similar things happening all around the country. The longer we have to go without games, the worse it will get.

"In the short-term, Harrogate Town will be okay. Long-term, it is still too early to say, but we will be looking into and trying to take advantage of every single bit of support that the government is offering."

BBC Sport reported earlier this week that the National League has written to all of its clubs asking them to disclose how much money they could lose over the coming months.

The letter requests that members disclose cash-flows and lost income until June because 'it is already apparent that football at any level is unlikely to resume immediately after April 3'.

It also includes a questionnaire asking if there are any issues regarding the employment and registration of players, rules and regulations and business operational issues.

The letter advises that the FA has been in touch with the government about what the league describes as 'unprecedented business issues' and urges clubs to contact HMRC regarding the possibility of deferring any tax payments because of financial hardship.