Portsmouth, Sunderland and Hull's promotion rivals saddened 'bigger' clubs got more funds from rescue package

DONCASTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: General views of the Keepmoat Stadium. PPPPPPPPcture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Pompey's promotion rivals Doncaster have been left saddened how the 'bigger' clubs in League One received a bigger portion of the rescue package to help financially during the coronavirus crisis.

In December, the Premier League and EFL agreed a £250m fund to aid teams hit by a lack of revenue during the pandemic.

Of that sum, £50m was ring fenced for League One and Two clubs. Each third-tier outfit received at least £375,000.

The remaining £15m was then distributed using a lost gate revenue share calculation, approved by both the EFL and the Premier League.

That meant the likes of Pompey, Sunderland, Hull and Ipswich with larger average attendances gained more from that pot than the likes of Doncaster.

As a result, Donny's sale of captain Ben Whiteman to Preston in the January transfer window helped ease their financial loses.

But Rovers chief executive Gavin Baldwin was disappointed his club didn't receive as much funding as the likes of Pompey from the rescue package.

Baldwin told Doncaster's website: ‘The deal with Ben provided the club with valuable funds immediately and there is the opportunity for those monies to increase in the future.

‘The funds have been invested back into the first team, but also helped to provide much needed financial security, in the midst of the ongoing pandemic.

‘At the end of December, we received our rescue package from the EFL and Premier League and, while we are grateful for the support, sadly we didn’t receive as much as we had told to expect with the majority of funds going to bigger teams in League One.

‘This ultimately left the club with a significant six-figure shortfall against what we were expecting. It is easy to see why the Ben deal was so important.’

Pompey travel to Doncaster on Tuesday, March 2.