Chairman of one of Hampshire’s three National League clubs ‘feels let down’ by the Government over funding crisis

Aldershot chairman Shahid Azeem believes Boris Johnson’s administration have ‘moved the goalposts’ regarding financial aid to the top three divisions of English non-league football.

And the Shots chief has no idea whether 2020/21 will be finished as clubs weigh up their options after the National League asked them to vote on whether they wanted to carry on playing.

‘Yes, I do feel let down,’ Azeem said. ’From my point of view, as chairman of the football club, I would like to carry on (the season) but I run the board on democracy and at the moment I have given the resolution to the board to have a discussion and decide.

‘Ultimately for Aldershot Football Club we have to find anywhere between £250,000-£300,000 to the end of June and that is no small feat.

‘How are we going to deal with that?

‘It will come down to are the directors prepared to put hands in their pockets or are we prepared to take the loans from a third party – I’m not sure what the conditions of the loan are.

‘But the most important thing is, we only started the season on the back of what the Government promised, which was grants.

‘When you are told you are going to get grants and the DCMS are asked what is going to happen in January if fans are not allowed in, the FA and the National League were told that the support would be continued.

‘This didn’t say grants, but equally they didn’t say loans.

‘If you are in a meeting talking about grants, why would you think loans would be now on the table?

‘Why give us grants in the first place?’

Clubs have 28 days to consider their position and vote, but given the severity of the situation – with the National League North and South in the midst of a two-week suspension that ends this Friday – Azeem expects a swift outcome.

‘Legally you have to give 28 days’ notice but I would suspect we would know in the next 10 days,’ he said.

‘Some of the votes will have come in already, some will be coming in, once you get a certain percentage you start to know where you sit.

‘My personal opinion is that we should know in the next 10 days.

‘From my point of view, we have to put it out to all the member clubs. We started the season on the back of the guarantees from the Government saying that we will get grant money up to December and support will continue if crowds aren’t allowed back in up to March.

‘Sadly, three months into it the DCMS has moved the goalposts and this is not what we as a National League started the season on.

‘The fact was we were going to get grants and support would continue in case crowds weren’t allowed back. That has fundamentally changed so we have to put it out to the members.

‘Each club’s business model is completely different. It is really up to them to decide whether they want to carry on.’

The DCMS maintains it never promised future funding in the form of grants after handing out National Lottery money for October, November and December.