Carlisle United to receive six-figure sum after bailout package agreed

It was announced today that a deal has been agreed to support EFL clubs hit hard by the loss of matchday income because of Covid-19.

A combined fund of £50m has been set up, with £30m to be shared among all League One and Two clubs as a grant.

A further £20m is available as a "monitored grant" for which clubs can apply.

United will receive a minimum payment of £250,000.

They will also receive a further amount from the £30m grant package based on calculations of lost revenue from last season and this season.

The announcement comes after months of talks between football's governing bodies over help for struggling clubs.

Help for the Championship, meanwhile, is in the form of "a further financial commitment [from the Premier League] to assist the EFL in securing a £200m loan facility that Championship clubs will be able to utilise interest free."

The rescue package has been approved by the EFL board, which includes Carlisle co-owner John Nixon, and also by Premier League clubs.

The EFL said £15m of a £30m grant will be shared "immediately" by clubs in the third and fourth tiers..."for distribution based on lost gate receipts in respect of the 2019/20 and 2020/21 season.

"Each club will receive a minimum payment of £375,000 in League One and £250,000 in League Two.

"The remaining £15m [is] to be distributed using a lost gate revenue share calculation, which will be approved by both the EFL and the Premier League.

"In addition, a further £20m ‘Monitored Grant’ is to be provided with clubs able to apply for it based on ‘need’, with a joint EFL and Premier League panel to determine club eligibility.

"Clubs subsequently in receipt of a ‘monitored grant’ will be subject to certain restrictions, in respect to transfer spend and player wages.

"Clubs who keep to the restrictions will not have to repay any of the funding required, whereas for clubs in breach, the ‘monitored grant’ becomes repayable by the club.

"Any club in receipt of a grant or monitored grant payment will be required to continue to maintain compliance with the EFL’s financial regulations."

The Championship situation, meanwhile, sees the Premier League provide a "payment commitment of up to £15m to cover interest, arrangement fees and professional fees to allow the EFL to secure a £200m loan facility that it will then on-lend to Championship clubs interest free."

EFL chair Rick Parry said: “Our over-arching aim throughout this process has been to ensure that all EFL clubs survive the financial impact of the pandemic.

"I am pleased that we have now reached a resolution on behalf of our clubs and as we have maintained throughout this will provide much needed support and clarity following months of uncertainty."

Richard Masters, Premier League chief executive, said the top-flight was "a huge supporter of the football pyramid and is well aware of the important role clubs play in their communities.

"Our commitment is that no EFL club need go out of business due to COVID-19."

United tonight gave a cautious welcome to the news.

Chief executive Nigel Clibbens said this is a new deal compared with previous proposed packages.

"Confirmation that it was now in place came at 11.30am this morning, along with some detail – all for the very first time," he said.

“We now need to carefully consider what it means.”

Clibbens said that, while Carlisle were guaranteed to receive an initial £250,000 it was not yet clear how much of the further "lost gate revenue" cash they would get.

He said the conditions and restrictions of the "monitored grant" were yet to be confirmed.

Clibbens added: “As I have said all along, the allocation of cash must be fair.

"The initial observations are that the move to ‘grant and monitored grant payments’ appears to be an improvement but, and as with all things when it comes to football deals, my experience tells me it’s the very fine detail that matters, not the headlines, especially when there has been pressure for some time for a deal and some good headlines to go with it.

“We will have a further update once there is more clarity on the points raised above.”