Premier League players set up charity fund #PlayersTogether to directly support NHS

The Premier League players’ fund to directly support the efforts of the National Health Service (NHS) in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has now been officially created and set up, as the 20 club captains and the PFA confirmed in a statement yesterday.

Called “Players Together”, the £4m already paid in will be distributed “quickly and efficiently to where they are needed most” by partnering with the NHS Charities Together umbrella organization. The players will be making additional personal donations and also donations from their monthly salaries. It’s unclear what the total monetary goal may be, if any.

The official statement ends with:

”#PlayersTogether is about we, as players, collaborating together to create a voluntary initiative, separate to any other club and league conversations, to help get much needed funds to those that need it right now. To try and help, along with so many others in the country, make a real difference.

”Our prayers and thoughts go out to everyone affected by this crisis. By sticking together, we will get through this.

”Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.

”#PlayersTogether”

While the fund is technically separate from the discussions about 30 per cent paycuts for all Premier League players, its quick and efficient establishment and assumed proper funding, not to mention the immediate support of where that money is needed most right now, would go a long way towards supporting the PFA’s position against unilateral cuts and the public’s perception of players’ efforts.

Rather than keeping money with owners and clubs, putting that money directly to work is surely a better solution — especially as the charitable fund could then continue long after the current crisis.