AFC Fylde chairman David Haythornthwaite wants FA intervention
Monday 23 March 2020 16:55, UK
AFC Fylde chairman David Haythornthwaite thinks the Football Association should step in to help clubs through the coronavirus pandemic.
The National League is not in a financial position to help with a relief fund, and Haythornthwaite told Sky Sports News he thinks intervention should not have to come from the government.
"We're not in bad shape but I do think we need to see some leadership from the FA," he said.
"I don't think it's fair to be asking the government to bail us out, I think football is quite capable of taking care of itself and looking after clubs.
"There's plenty of money in football and I hope we see some leadership from the top as opposed to just expecting the government to give us a hand out."
AFC Fylde were beaten by Salford City in last season's National League play-off final before winning the FA Trophy at Wembley last May, but find themselves second from bottom this season and four points from safety.
Although Haythornthwaite says the integrity of the competition is "irrelevant when people are dying" he hopes there is a conclusion to the current campaign.
"There's no doubt about it, that it would be really important we do get it finished," he said. "It would give clarity to everybody, then we can move forward and know what we're doing.
He added: "At the moment there's nobody coming in at all. The players are off at home with their families. There's no intention at the moment to change that. The league's supposed to start at the end of the month so there's no training at this club at the moment.
"We're all hopefully in good shape at the moment. But it changes almost by the hour."
