Premier League clubs in England are set to receive some of their end-of-season prize money in advance as they deal with financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report in the Times in England says that millions of pounds will be handed out to clubs to ease the cash flow crisis caused by the pandemic.
Football in the UK has been suspended since March and last week the Premier League announced that action is suspended indefintely.
Clubs have been left without revenue streams such as matchday income and television broadcast money.
The 20 top-flight clubs agreed last week to release some of the funds that would normally be paid out on a team's final position in the table at the end of the season.
The report claims that will see each club receive advances ranging from several million for clubs at the bottom of the table to sums of over £20 million for the sides at the top.
The advance would also include 'facility fees' which is a sum of money clubs receive each time that they appear live on television.
The Premier League has already received its broadcast revenue for the season from domestic and overseas rights holders although a portion of that may have to be refunded if the remainder of the season cannot be completed, the report adds.
So far, Tottenham, Newcastle United, Norwich City and Bournemouth have placed non-playing staff on furlough, taking advantage of the UK government’s Job Retention Scheme which pays 80% of their wages.
On Thursday, Southampton became the first Premier League club to agree salary deferrals with its playing squad, for a period of three months in the first instance.
The Saints' board of directors, first-team manager, his coaching staff and the first-team squad have agreed to defer part of their salaries for the months of April, May and June "to help protect the future of the club".
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