Dave Parker
THE MOST important man at Brighouse Town Football Club right now with his finger on the pulse is the club’s long serving treasurer David Wormald.
The former referee who lives within a good goalkeeper’s punt of the Yorkshire Payments Stadium in Hove Edge is busy form filling for grant aid and ensuring his beloved club keeps its head above water while the Pitching-In Northern Premier League season is in pause mode owing to the pandemic.
Local government and central government grant aid has been covered for a second time and now he is awaiting the news all Step 3 to Step 6 clubs hope to hear over the next seven days that the the Government’s £14 million Winter Survival package for those steps has been released.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced this package in November but at the time it was looking like being more of a loan. Since then the second wave of Covid -19 and the new variant has seen all member clubs in those steps forced to close their doors and with no guaranteed income. Town have been without a home game since Saturday, December 19 when Workington were the visitors in a 1-1 draw.
Wormald has, as revealed earlier, covered the second shutdown of rateable value and business loans, and now has focused on hearing from the FA at Wermbley or via the DCMS to see when he can look for the club’s share of the £14m.
Local clubs like FC Halifax Town and Bradford Park Avenue in the National Leagues -Steps 1 and 2-have received £10 million via the National Lottery while they continue to play behind closed doors and look for more grant aid.
The lower non-elite clubs now urgently look to their share out to take more pressure off them as they look to at least another six months before they can enjoy paying spectators once more coming through their turnstiles.
Some clubs across the country are looking at holding local competitions in April and May with the permission of their Leagues if the players are allowed back into training in late March should the Government relax the Tier measures on the success of the vaccination programme and the `R’ No declining as a result to take the pressure off the NHS.
