Highlands MSP says football clubs need funding lifeline ASAP
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Highlands Labour MSP David Stewart has tabled questions in the Scottish Parliament seeking clarification on when the funding and grants being made available for Scotland’s football clubs will be open for applications.
A £55m funding package was announced last week by the Scottish Government to help sports clubs tackle the void of lost ticket revenue caused by the outbreak of Covid-19.
A total of £20m in funding is being made available to football clubs in the Premiership with £10m of grants being made available for clubs at every other level of the game.
The MSP has been a lifelong Inverness Caley Thistle supporter and is chair of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Trust.
He said: “Football clubs up and down the country have been hit hard by the implications of Covid-19 restrictions and I was pleased that the Health and Sport Committee agreed to my request to hold an inquiry into this.
"As part of that inquiry, the Minister for Sport, Joe Fitzpatrick, gave evidence at the latest committee."
Mr Stewart said: “While the meeting was very helpful, the detail of how and when the funding and grants will be made available is not yet known and I know clubs at every level of the game are keen to know when and how they can apply for the help being offered.
“As an avid football fan, I know just how perilously close some clubs are to going under and we need to make sure this money gets to those who need it without delay.
“Football is in the very fabric of communities up and down Scotland and loss of gate sales and hospitality revenue has hit clubs hard.
"We must get that help out to the clubs immediately to secure the future of the game, at every level, in Scotland.”
