Prime Minister praises Mansfield Town owners for 'all they have done' to support the club during Covid-19 crisis

Mansfield MP Ben Bradley asked the Prime Minister what he will do to support football clubs financially, after new coronavirus measures unveiled on Tuesday shelved plans for fans to be able to return to stadiums.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport told sports governing bodies to prepare for no in-person spectators throughout the winter due to the rising number of new Covid-19 cases, despite earlier reassurances that fans would be able to return.

In an address to parliament yesterday, Mr Bradley said: "Mr Speaker, our local football club is hugely important to our community.

“Mansfield Town is a fine example of a club that both works with and invests in our town.

“Many sports clubs around the country have found their hopes of welcoming fans back to stadiums next month have been dashed.

“Given that many football league clubs are so reliant on gate receipts to be viable can my right honourable friend assure me that he’ll do everything possible to support these clubs both as businesses but for the communities which rely on them?”

Thanks for the shout out! 💛💙@BorisJohnson @mansfieldtownfc pic.twitter.com/AXXj8SqHxd

— Carolyn Radford (@CarolynRadford) September 23, 2020

Boris Johnson praised Mansfield Town owners John and Carolyn Radford ‘for all they have done’ for the club and the community during the ongoing crisis.

In response, the Prime Minister said: “Well Mr Speaker, I know what a passionate supporter my honourable friend is for Mansfield Town and I can tell him, and by the way I want to thank John and Carolyn Radford for all they have done for the club and I can tell him that the Secretary of state for culture, media and sport is in active consultation with clubs across the country to see what we can do to help.”

Mrs Radford, the chief executive of the club and former senior at Gucci, thanked Mr Johnson for the ‘shoutout’ in a post on twitter.

She took up the post for the Stag’s in 2011, becoming English football’s youngest CEO at the age of 29, as well as being a trained lawyer.

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