Chesterfield's play-off rivals Boreham Wood have loan bid rejected by Sport England

Chesterfield’s play-off rivals Boreham Wood have had their application for a loan rejected by Sport England.
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Boreham, who are one place below the Spireites in the National League table on goal difference, have revealed their bid for funding from the government’s Sports Winter Survival Package has been turned down.

National League clubs have been encouraged to apply for a loan to help ease their financial worries with supporters still not allowed inside stadiums.

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Clubs can apply for grants but they have to prove that they cannot afford to pay back a loan first.

Boreham Wood's application for a loan from Sport England has been turned down (photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images).Boreham Wood's application for a loan from Sport England has been turned down (photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images).
Boreham Wood's application for a loan from Sport England has been turned down (photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images).

Town have made an application of their own and we understand they are confident that they will be successful.

Sport England said Boreham’s bid for a loan had been rejected because ‘the club has demonstrated that it has sufficient finances to enable it to survive through until to March 2022’.

Boreham was one of the clubs that others in the National League felt had received more money from the government than they should have done for lost gate receipts last November.

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The club said in a statement on Monday that it was ‘very disappointed’ with the news because they were given ‘assurances’ by the National League.

“It now feels that those assurances were perhaps only given to ensure we supported the continuation of the National League at Step 1.”

Club chairman, Danny Hunter, said he was ‘feeling a bit sorry for myself’ and claims he has been ‘misled by the governing bodies’.

He added: “I’ve gone and rechecked things my end with my finance director, who has also rechecked things her end with Sport England and its simple… If I hadn’t taken those earlier business interruption loans, if I’d not deferred my tax, if I had repaid my remortgage and if I had decided to work hand to mouth and not created sensible cashflow, I would have got the loan – so for me that’s madness.

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“In other words, if I’d put my community football club bang in trouble, if I’d just worried about me and put my staff, my players and my suppliers lives and livelihoods in danger by not doing the right thing then the football club would apparently now be eligible for the winter survival loans on the improved terms which the other National League clubs are now getting.”

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