Premier League Players Launch Funding Initiative For Nhs

Premier League players have launched a new initiative to distribute money to NHS Charities Together (NHSCT) in a bid to help frontline staff who are fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Players such as Jordan Henderson, Hector Bellerin, Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane posted a statement on social media announcing players at a host of Premier League clubs had held talks about how they could help during the coronavirus pandemic and distribute funds to areas where it would do the most good.

“This is a critical time for our country and for our NHS, and we are determined to help in any way that we can,” said the statement.

“We can confirm that after extensive conversations between a huge number of players from all Premier League clubs we have created our own collective player initiative, #PlayersTogether, and have partnered with NHSCT in order to assist them in generating and distributing funds quickly and efficiently to where they are needed most.”

The news comes after protracted discussions between the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). The two organisations had discussed players taking wage cuts throughout the pandemic in order to help their clubs through the financial impact that the lockdown will have.

The PFA said previously that a 30% wage cut proposed by the league would result in a £200 million loss to the exchequer in taxes that Premier League players collectively pay on their earnings, and that this money would represent a blow to services such as the NHS.

The statement said: “The proposed 30% salary deduction over a 12-month period equates to over £500m in wage reductions and a loss in tax contributions of over £200m to the government. What effect does this loss of earning to the government mean for the NHS?”