Sheffield Hatters need £60,000 to take place in WBBL this season

Sheffield Hatters need to find £60,000 by the autumn to fund their Women’s BBL team, or risk having to drop out of the elite tier altogether.

Hatters are the oldest club in British women’s basketball, and are celebrating their 60th year next season, with the majority of that time spent dominating the sport.

But unlike their counterparts who can call on associations with universities and local councils, Hatters are self-sufficient, reliant on ticket sales, sponsors and fundraisers. The coronavirus pandemic has meant major backers have had to reduce the amount of money going into the club, throwing the club’s future in the WBBL into doubt and prompting the plea for support.

“We have not necessarily been struggling, but it’s been harder and harder over the last four years to finance the WBBL team,” said the club’s head coach, Vanessa Ellis.

“We’ve had to work really hard all year round to get the funding. And now obviously with Covid, that’s made it even harder. We lost two fundraisers we usually have, a dinner and a programme we run with HSBC.

“Other than Westfield Health, who have backed us for the last 10 years, we’ve hardly had any other support.

“They are the only local business that has helped us over a sustained period of time. Some business do come on board but only for a short period.”

The £60,000 required would go towards player wages, accommodation, travel costs, officials – of which there are six to pay for every game – court costs for training and matchdays.

“It’s £60,000 to run a WBBL team,” confirmed Ellis. “It’s not a massive amount when you measure it against a football team or a men’s basketball team.

“The WBBL have said they will give us time (season is due to start in October), but unfortunately we’re not like the other teams in the league. They have links with universities that give them use of courts, Masters degrees to offer as part of the package for players.

“Some have support from local trusts or from councils. We have nothing like that.

“We’ve written to some institutions in the city and they don’t even reply. It’s not for the lack of trying, but now we need help.”

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