Jacqui Oatley: Make big boys bail out small clubs
Wolverhampton-born sports journalist Jacqui Oatley has called for football’s big spenders to bail out the lower league clubs during the coronavirus outbreak.
With fixtures postponed until at least April 30, many non-league teams and clubs at the bottom of the Football League will struggle to survive without outside support.
The EFL recently announced a £50milllion advance for its clubs but Oatley believes teams at the top have a duty to offer financial aid in order to protect the country’s football pyramid.
“This is now a time for football to come together and if we lose 20 lower league clubs, that would be a nightmare for the entire game in this country,” she said.
“We pride ourselves on the football pyramid, we’re not like other nations where all the focus goes on the top division – we have an extremely strong pyramid.
“It needs help from the bottom up and if it takes multi-million pound packages to save clubs, then let’s do it.
“If it means the top clubs can only sign players for £50m instead of £60m then so be it.
“It’s a chance for football to come together and rally around and not let the small clubs die.”
After initially suspending games until April 3, the Premier League and EFL extended that to April 30, while outlining their commitment to finishing the season in any way they can.
Several suggestions have been made for the leagues to be cancelled altogether or for the current league table to stand as the final one, but Oatley insists that completing the current campaign is the only way forward.
“I 100 per cent support finishing the season, why on earth would you start again from scratch?”
