ECB launch loan scheme to assist amateur leagues through coronavirus crisis

Applications for up to £50,000 are permitted, with the scheme funding the cost of cricket balls, as well as unrecoverable expenditure for the 2020 campaign

Leagues affiliated to the ECB are now able to apply for funding through a third scheme to help them cope with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with the national governing body unveiling its League Emergency Loan Scheme.

The initiative aims to support both junior and open-age competitions through a provision of interest-free loans.

Leagues with partnership agreements via their County Cricket Board (CCB) or the National Asian Cricket Council (NACC), National Cricket Conference (NCC) or Afro-Caribbean Cricket Association (ACCA) in 2019 or 2020 are also eligible to submit an application.

Applications for up to £50,000 are permitted, with the scheme funding the cost of cricket balls, as well as unrecoverable expenditure for the 2020 campaign, including block bookings for ground hire, league handbooks, purchase of new equipment and planned events.

Nick Pryde, the ECB's director of participation and growth, said: “We’re pleased to be able to offer a new League Emergency Loan Scheme to help affiliated cricket leagues during the current shutdown of the sport.

“It has been great to see clubs receiving financial support through national and local government schemes, as well as through the ECB's Emergency Support Funding, which launched last month.

“We are now in a position to help the leagues across England and Wales with the costs they will incur in 2020 regardless of the amount of cricket that is played this summer.

“Leagues will be able to apply for a loan of up to £50,000 to cover a number of unrecoverable costs incurred for the 2020 season, as well as assisting towards the cost of cricket balls purchased for the year.

“Everyone across the sport is hoping we will see cricket played across England and Wales this summer and at the ECB we're working closely with the Government to establish when and how it will be safe to resume play.”

In April, the ECB launched the Emergency Loan Scheme and the Return to Cricket Scheme as part of a £61m package designed to assist the sport – both recreationally and professionally – through an unprecedented summer and beyond.

Thee Emergency Loan Scheme aims to provide funding to clubs to cover shortfalls in cashflow that might otherwise hinder the essential day-to-day running and maintenance of the club until recreational cricket can resume; its suspension was advised until further notice on March 18.

In the case of the Return to Cricket Grant Scheme, it will provide assistance in exceptional circumstances, where other financial support is unavailable or inappropriate – for instance, where constitutionally a loan is not deemed a plausible option.

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