Wood Chairman Danny Hunter and Secretary of State for DCMS Mr. Oliver Dowden CBE sat down on Friday to discuss the future for football at National League level and the Wood Chairman was delighted with how discussions went.
Hunter said, “‘I’ve known Oliver since he went into Parliament in 2015 as the MP for our local constituency of Hertsmere, and I’ve always found him to be very intelligent, very approachable and a guy who really does understand the issues of football at our level of the game whilst appreciating the roles that our Clubs genuinely play within our community.
“I think after I reflected on our talks on Friday afternoon, that the National League will be very happy with Oliver’s commitment to all of our Clubs and the communities that we serve. So, I’d like to think that my very positive meeting with the Minister, who I respect hugely as my local MP, was a more than helpful addition to the many discussions Mr. Dowden has had recently, in ensuring that the assistance promised to the National League flows directly to the clubs that need it. It is so critically important that these funds get to the front line fittingly, as trust me every club desperately needs it.
Hunter continued, “This Government, through its furlough scheme, through its business interruption loans, through its rates holidays, and now through this new assisted package for National League Clubs, has in truth kept us afloat. Whilst it shows me that Government do understand and care for the importance of what the 67 National League Clubs do within our communities.
“So, I’d just like to thank Oliver personally, as well as his team for taking the time to come to the Club. For giving me some of their precious and pressured time, but also for being good listeners and then reflecting on what we discussed, particularly on how things might move forward positively, whilst also reassuringly, for the National League as this pandemic still very much with us all as we go into the winter months.”
“Yesterday was an exciting day for my community, with us finally starting our league campaign down in Wales against Wrexham. Albeit the result didn’t go our way, our fans supported the live stream that Wrexham put on, our performance was more than promising, and it was a great feeling to have my Manager back on the touchline and our players back on the pitch playing competitive football with our Wood Army following their team again at 3pm on a Saturday.” Hunter concluded.
OUR CLUB. OUR TOWN. OUR COMMUNITY.
