EFL: Championship clubs to receive £117.5m loan to meet lost gate receipts
- Published
Crowds could be permitted to attend the EFL play-off finals at Wembley Stadium at the end of May
The English Football League has secured a £117.5m loan to help Championship clubs who have lost income from gate receipts due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After the equivalent of a full season played behind closed doors without spectators, the EFL says clubs have lost out on approximately £150m.
The deal has been agreed with MetLife Investment Management.
"This is a much welcome, timely package of support for Championship clubs," EFL chairman Rick Parry said.
The size of the £117.5m loan, agreed with MetLife following a competitive bidding process, matches the amount requested by Championship clubs, the EFL said in a statement on Monday., external
It will help them meet their PAYE liabilities for the season.
"The support will be pivotal to clubs being able to re-evaluate their financial position," Parry said.
"It will help them start to plot their way out of the pandemic and plan with greater certainty for the 2021-22 season when we are hoping for the return of fans in large numbers."
The Premier League has provided up to £15m to cover interest and arrangement fees for the loan after BBC Sport understands the EFL failed to reach an agreement with the government over financial support.
The Treasury is understood to have placed stipulations over the funding it was prepared to offer around player contracts, which the EFL felt was unacceptable.
In December, the Premier League provided a £250m bailout package for lower division clubs struggling financially.
The Championship received an interest-free £200m loan while League One and League Two clubs were awarded a £50m grant.
EFL fixtures will continue to be played behind closed doors until at least 17 May.
Crowds of up to 10,000 people or 25% of a stadium's capacity, whichever is lower, could be permitted to attend after that date should crowd pilots in April prove successful.
The play-off finals take place at Wembley Stadium on the weekend of 29-31 May.