Chesterfield receive £1m loan from government after successful application

Spireites chairman, Mike Goodwin, said: “We are one of the first clubs to receive the loan, which will be used to underpin our operational costs.

“It will make a significant difference to us during these challenging times and we would like to thank the National League and Sport England for their valued support.”

It is believed to be a long-term loan, and the terms are understood to be quite favourable including a low payback rate and a ‘holiday’ period where they will not have to pay anything for a specific amount of time.

With no supporters allowed in stadiums because of the pandemic, government funding for the first part of the National League season, which started in October, came in the form of grants.

However, it came as a surprise to most clubs to later find out that funding from January to March would come in loans, which a lot of clubs said they could not afford.

As a result, the National League North and National League South divisions were cancelled in February following a vote, but step one of the National League opted in favour of continuing.

Clubs were encouraged to apply for a loan or a grant from the government, via Sport England, to see them through to the end of the season and beyond.

Clubs would only receive a grant if they could prove they would not be able to pay back a loan.

Not all clubs have been successful, including play-off rival Boreham Wood, who had their application turned down.

It led to Boreham chairman, Danny Hunter, claiming he had been ‘misled’ by the governing bodies’.

“Perhaps they’ve tried letting us down softly by telling us that we are a well-run football club, but to acknowledge in the letter the large amount of monies we’ve lost with no crowds, no astro facility hire, no bar sales and no function hire but then infer that because I’ve deferred my tax, remortgaged my home and already taken out two business interruption loans, that we don’t need their help to get through this season, is to forget the assurances given,” Wood added.