Volunteers, such as Rob Gray at Harrogate Railway, have played a vital role for Non-League clubs during the pandemic
I have to be honest here. Really honest. I am totally flabbergasted that scores of senior Non-League clubs haven't gone bust during this terrible Coronavirus pandemic.
The repeated lockdown cycles have led to a complete lack of income streams. Firstly, through the turnstiles, with Step 1 and Step 2 matches currently being played behind closed doors and lower levels of the Pyramid seeing their fixtures suspended at present.
Then, for a plethora of Non-League clubs, the loss of clubhouse activity has been even more devastating. Not just the dosh spent across the bar, but also the vital earnings that would normally have been accrued from hiring out facilities for functions such as birthday parties and wedding receptions.
In addition, there has been an accelerating shortfall in Non-League sponsorship. Many businesses have been struggling financially during Covid and have therefore been unable to give their usual generous backing to local football teams.
So how have our clubs managed to keep afloat? Well I believe it is down to the fantastic endeavours of Non-League's valiant army of volunteers up and down the country.
These ladies and gentlemen are unpaid. They are not involved for the money or the glory. But they do it for the love of the game. It's as simple as that.
I've had scores of messages on Twitter recently about how club volunteers have gone above and beyond the call of duty in recent months. Here are a few examples…
* Before lockdown, Darlington had a matchday half-time draw that raised more than £600 for the club at each game. But now that fans are unable to attend behind closed doors fixtures, volunteer Andy Clarke has decided to continue the scheme online.
Each ‘Virtual 50/50 Ticket' costs £1.00 with Andy raising £16,000 so far. This goes towards paying the players' wages.
Andy said: “We are a fan-owned club so we don't have a rich owner or large sums of cash in the bank to get us through this period with no revenue coming in. For us, it is all about the supporters rallying around and we are really proud to help out as football means so much to people in Darlington.”
* At Slough Town, Sue Shiel opened up their club shop at weekends before Christmas to raise funds by allowing supporters to buy merchandise gifts. Sue combined this by working the full week in the NHS at a nearby hospital.
* Golcar United volunteers have been encouraging membership of their ‘Legends Club', which was relaunched in November. Supporters chip in £5 a month and are entered into a draw where the top prize is £50. Proceeds go towards the ongoing upkeep of facilities at their Longfield Avenue ground.
* Squires Gate media manager Jay Hayden told me that his club are creating a special lockdown magazine covering a wide range of football topics to generate some funds.
* Hanwell Town have launched a new online club shop as well as creating the ‘Friends of Hanwell' scheme where donations of more than £18,000 have been received to keep the club going.
* The supporters club at Exmouth Town was formed last year and is affectionately known known as the ‘Mufftown Casuals'.
They now have a membership of 100 and have already paid for £10,000 worth of improvement work around the Southern Road ground courtesy of their fundraising activities.
* Baldock Town volunteers managed to persuade former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips to record a heartfelt video for their online Crowdfunder page. This subsequently raised £26,575 with 94 supporters sending contributions. Phillips actually began his glittering football career as a teenager with the original Baldock Town, who folded in 2001.
He said: “We want our local teams to survive and – of course – Baldock Town is where it all started for myself many, many moons ago. So I have an affiliation with the club and I don't want it to go under. This affects everyone – not just in the first team but right down to the young kids who are involved. We want to see those youngsters out getting exercise and playing football. I will show my full support and do whatever I can to help.”
* Finally, Westbury United chairman Greg Coulson messaged me tongue-in-cheek to say: “I popped in to the ground back in March when the pandemic started to turn everything off and reduce the club's bills to an affordable amount. Does that count?”
Seriously though, it has been nice to pay tribute to some Non-League football's unsung heroes in this column today. They are worth their weight in gold in terms of loyal service to their clubs.
Personally, I have repeatedly seen their efforts at first hand. Before the Covid interruption, I travelled all around the country to watch more than 100 games a season.
Due to the distances involved, I would set off from home very early and often arrived at my intended match two or three hours before kick-off. But the volunteers would already be in place – marking out the lines on the pitch, putting up the goal nets, laying out the players' kits and preparing matchday refreshments. Plus a myriad of other jobs, big and small.
During the pandemic, our Non-League volunteers have stood up to be counted. It is thanks to their unstinting commitment that clubs are continuing to get by in these very uncertain times.
