Football League Come to the Rescue for Portsmouth

The Football League may have temporary saved Portsmouth by supplementing cash to the Championship side and allow the club to finish out the season.

There were fears that the Fratton Park club would be unable to fulfil their fixtures this term due to their financial woes after being plunged into administration for the second time in two years last month.

That could have thrown the competition into disarray, with Pompey’s results being expunged from the records and raising questions over the integrity of the league due to the impact on the promotion and relegation battles.

Administrator Trevor Birch revealed on Wednesday evening that the Football League had agreed to release a total of £800,000 to the South Coast side, in four payments of £200,000, which should stave off the immediate threat of closure.

Birch said: “I am pleased to confirm that there have been some positive developments at Portsmouth Football Club over the last few days. I have held constructive talks with The Football League, who have been incredibly supportive.

“The league will now resume payment of the club’s Basic Award monies which are normally paid on a monthly basis to all Football League clubs.

“For clubs in the Championship, they amount to around £200,000 a month. The league has confirmed that we will receive the four outstanding payments for the current season as and when they fall due, subject to any outstanding balances owed to other clubs.

“This money will go a long way towards plugging the club’s financial gap and allowing us to complete the season.

“This is clearly a very positive step but I wish to emphasise that we are not out of the woods yet.

“The additional money buys us more time but it does not solve the club’s problems and it does not guarantee the club’s survival.

“But thanks to this and other initiatives currently being considered by the joint administrators, which may include further player loans, we should be able to get to the end of the season.”

A Football League spokesman said: “As in all insolvency situations, The Football League is focused on the ultimate survival of the club for its supporters and the wider community.

“We will now continue working with the administrator to achieve a successful re-structuring of the club.”

by Ismail Uddin