Cash boost for Conference clubs

Forest Green Rovers, Bath City and Weston-super-Mare are to receive a welcome cash boost from the Premier League.

The collapse of TV company Setanta and the wider economic downturn has left many Football Conference clubs struggling to pay the bills, prompting a one-off payment of £1 million from the nation's top division.

Rovers and their Blue Square Premier counterparts will each receive £30,000, while the Romans and Weston – who ply their trade in Blue Square South – will benefit to the tune of £6,000.

The disparity is due to the impact of Setanta's demise during the close season, which immediately left BSP clubs with an £80,000 black hole in lost TV revenue.

Forest Green secretary Colin Peake, who is also PR and media board director for the Football Conference, said: "This cash donation has come at a very opportune time.

"As a club, we had been receiving a basic £80,000 from Setanta plus additional payments for appearing in live televised matches.

"These are significant sums of money to suddenly get taken away, so we are extremely grateful to the Premier League.

"They do a lot of very good work at grass roots level and rarely seek publicity for it, such as the £10,000 donation made to Gloucester City after the 2007 floods."

Peake said the Football Conference remained hopeful of securing an alternative television contract, despite negotiations with American firm ESPN breaking down this week.

He said: "We are not anywhere near the business end of the season yet and we know our product is an attractive one, bearing in mind the stature and support of clubs like Luton Town and Oxford United.

"Having said that, we want to ensure that any deal benefits all 68 member clubs and not just the so-called big boys."

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, said: "The Premier League clubs discussed the current financial difficulties facing their counterparts in the Conference and were happy to be in the position to help them out with some financial support.

"The Football Conference is clearly an integral part of the football pyramid as well as being extremely important to local fans and communities – it was absolutely the right thing to do at this time."