Sutton United have been awarded £10,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund towards the running costs of the club during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of the virus and the consequent shutdown of businesses as of March 23 has left the sport and physical activity sector facing a period of uncertainty.

In response, on March 31 Sport England announced a £195m package to help the sport and physical activity sector through Covid-19. Within the package is a £20m Community Emergency Fund, of National Lottery money to deliver immediate funding to those who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but are experiencing the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus.

Club chairman Bruce Elliott said: ”It’s well known that clubs at our level have been badly hit by the suspension of football and the lack of any income, so initiatives such as this from Sport England are very welcome and we are grateful for their support.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s Chief Executive, said:  “As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future. The £20m Community Emergency fund, made possible by National Lottery players, is part of a multi-million pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and well-being. We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to clubs like Sutton to help them through these extremely challenging times.”