Camelon Juniors FC are fully supportive of the Government efforts to combat Covid-19 and have a great appreciation of how difficult a job the Scottish Government have to balance health and the economy, and the sacrifices that people are making to fight this disease.
The club is proud to have played its part in suppressing the first wave of the virus however in simple terms we are facing a fight for our very survival if fans are not allowed into watch games.
Football at the level Camelon play, faces the biggest crisis since the second world war. Our industry sector is being denied the right to trade, due to the refusal to let fans watch games, whilst just over the border in England clubs at equivalent levels are allowed supporters into the match, properly physically distanced with fans wearing face masks.
It is hard to see how going to the football is a higher risk than the pub or the supermarket, when it’s outdoors, distanced, tracked and everyone is temperature checked.
It is our hope that the current restrictions on us are simply out of a lack of appreciation of the challenges football faces at this level. There is no Sky TV deal and no generous benefactor in the form of Mr Anderson as our friends in the SPFL received. Match day income is fundamental to being able to trade solvently. Without it, through no fault of clubs at this level, many won’t be here in three months time.
People may say there are too many clubs anyway. Our response to that is that their view would be different if it was their own club and there won’t be many clubs anywhere in Scotland that are safe, and almost none are at tier five.
Clubs are not asking for a 1,000 fans. All we’re asking for is 200 in a 14,000 square meter site, in a controlled, secure environment.
This week the club has written to local MSP Michael Matheson, who we’re pleased to say has responded to arrange a telephone meeting next week. We look forward to a discussion on what we hope is a lack of understanding of the sector, and the economic benefits it has to the local economy. While Camelon might not be a big club, we still employ twenty people and purchase many products from local suppliers who in turn employ local people. Multiply this by the number of clubs and it’s an economic generator worth, according to a recent study, over £500 million to the Scottish Economy.
The fiscal benefit aside, the community and mental health benefits that football brings to players and supporters alike should be reason enough to re-consider fans in football, providing it’s in a secure and safe venue.
We’re not asking for a moonshot on this one. Either the ability to run our business and trade, or for some assistance to replace the trade that has been denied to us.
Tony Smith
Club Secretary
Camelon Juniors Football Club
