A FOOTBALL club have hit the back of the net after receiving a £3,795 grant to help cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wivenhoe Town have secured the National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund.

It will help cover the costs of running and maintaining their stadium, in Broad Lane.

Chairman Mo Osman said: "Like so many organisations, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted significantly on the finances of our club with a number of revenue streams being lost.

"This grant provides very welcome relief to cover some of those losses and will help ensure that, as soon as the authorities confirm it is safe, we're ready to welcome back our players, families, supporters and the wider community.”

In addition to their senior Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League side, Wivenhoe also have a walking football team and a thriving youth set-up, featuring 150 players.

Their youth teams range from under-eights to under-18s and they play in the Colchester and District Youth League.

On March 31, Sport England announced a £195 million package to help the sport and physical activity sector through Covid-19.

Within the package is a £20 million Community Emergency Fund of National Lottery money.

It is being used to deliver immediate funding to those who are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus.

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s chief executive, said: “As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future.

"The £20m Community Emergency fund, made possible by National Lottery players, is part of a multimillion-pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

“We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to Wivenhoe Town, to help through these extremely challenging times.”