Hereford Chairman, Andrew Graham, has provided the following update from the club.
Over the last few months, we have been working to the ever-changing guidance from the Government, the FA, and the National League that suggested that we would be able to start the campaign with fans in attendance here at Edgar Street, albeit with limited capacity.
A lot of work went into those plans, season tickets were sold, Covid-safe seating plans were created, supporters rallied around this wonderful club as they always do in times of need, and directors, staff and volunteers put in many hours of hard work to ensure Edgar Street would be ready to welcome fans back.
Supporters are the heartbeat of this club, and we are thoroughly disappointed that we won’t be able to open our doors for the time being, but as you will probably know, we have also been working on other plans, such as the possibility of streaming our games to those fans who can not attend. Hopefully, we will be in a position to provide more details on that front in the near future.
I am sure you will have seen two statements go out at the end of last week, one, a joint statement signed by the majority of National League North sides, and the second, an update from the National League following their board meeting on Friday.
The statement from the National League North clubs warned that 81% of clubs would not be in a position to start the season without financial assistance, whilst the statement following the National League board meeting revealed discussions were ongoing with the Government with regards to securing a financial support package to assist the National League system.
I wanted to update you all on the position we are currently in: put simply, playing football without fans in attendance is just not a viable option, at least not in the medium to long term, and we would certainly be reliant on financial assistance from the government in order to allow us to commence the season.
Your fantastic support to date; buying season tickets, purchasing items from the club shop, supporting the Boost the Budget campaign, along with grants received from various schemes and the strong commercial support of the local business community, have all ensured that we have managed to get to this point, but once the season starts, we become more reliant on the additional income from matchday attendance, and the associated income that brings.
Over the weekend just gone, we have provided the National League with the financial information that they have requested as they continue to work hard to secure financial assistance from the Government.
However, at the time of writing this, we still do not have any further news as to when this potential support might be confirmed, and it is fair to say that time is certainly not on our side. I do, however, remain hopeful that those talks will be successful and that they will be finalised later this week.
I am sure, like me, you would all prefer to have some more definite news as to how the season will look for us, but sadly, I am not in a position to be able to provide that clarification at the moment. Please rest assured that as soon as we hear more about any proposals from the National League and Government, I will let you know.
As a board, we are adamant that we remain sustainable and will not look to risk reserves again, on what is effectively a ‘flip of the coin.’ We must protect the integrity of the Club and minimise the potential risk to supporters and the longevity of Hereford FC.’
In the meantime, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your patience and amazing support so far, I hope you all remain safe and well and I look forward to the day that we can welcome everyone back to Edgar Street.
Photo: Official Hereford FC Website
