The big news this week has been the opening of the government portal for the job retention scheme. Our grateful thanks to Bruce for his meticulous preparation of all the data required to ensure everything was correctly input, and to Rob and Adrian for assisting him in this regard.
The council has confirmed a three month rent holiday, which is very welcome and we thank them for that.
Your directors have been working hard to identify potential additional sources of revenue; there is nothing concrete yet to report but we have two or three promising avenues to pursue and in these turbulent times anything that can be secured will be welcome. You may have read on the website that Marvin and his colleagues have seen months of hard work culminate in firm plans to grow our academy still further next season with the addition of a new satellite site in Croydon. This excellent new facility will allow for our planned growth and expand our current catchment area, strengthening the academy structure and reach and will be a financial benefit for next year, and beyond, but more importantly demonstrates the broader recognition amongst the footballing community of the progress we have made, and the strength of the Sutton United brand.
On Wednesday the National League announced that a vote by clubs had elected to end the 2019/20 season without the remaining matches being played, as yet no decision has yet been reached around how to decide issues of promotion and relegation. Sutton United voted in favour of the National League's Board recommendation to support this resolution. Whilst, from a pure footballing perspective, we felt that the fairest way forward would be to play the outstanding fixtures, there does not seem to be any way in which this could be achieved in a meaningful timeframe and the club's Board was unanimous in believing that this was the right decision to make as it will help all member clubs to mitigate extreme financial hardship during this crisis.
We are pleased to have seen season ticket sales income well into four figures again last week, which is encouraging, and we are grateful for your continuing support. Whilst we all appreciate that there is uncertainty around when the new season will be able to commence, this is one of the best ways fans can help the club at this time. Don't forget that the early bird period has been extended to the end of May. Please note - we have processed all orders taken to date but will not be posting out season tickets until lockdown measures are relaxed. We thank everyone for their understanding in this regard.
In the meantime watch out for the great features and interviews SUFCTv are producing to keep people entertained and informed during this difficult period. Our thanks to the team for all their hard work. The current schedule includes an interview this Sunday evening with Club Chairman Bruce Elliott, who I'm sure will be sharing all the up to date news with everyone.
Stay Safe and please follow the Government's rules and guidelines on social distancing
#inittogether
Dave Farebrother
Chairman, Board of Directors