Dulwich Hamlet boss: ‘We would have gone bust if season had not been voided’

Dulwich Hamlet was on the verge of going bust until the National League voided the season, the chairman has revealed.

Hamlet supremo Ben Clasper said postponing the end of the season would have forced clubs to keep incurring costs, without any income from games.

Player contracts would have continued past their July 1 expiry, forcing clubs to either close or not pay their players.

Clasper said: “The vote means we will survive and we will be back together with our community whenever the time is right for our sport to restart. 

“We have prepared for four different scenarios for whatever happens next and our role is to support the national and local authorities by implementing whatever decisions they take on when it is safe for us to be together again at Champion Hill.

“The vote means we are free to plan and free to communicate with our fans and so going forward we will provide regular updates on a variety of subjects including those some of you have already enquired about.

“During the past five weeks the future of the club has been at risk and all our efforts each day have been spent solving the short-term financial problems without compromising our long-term future. 

“Whilst we will go into more detail later about how we intend to overcome the challenges ahead of us I cannot tell you how moving it has been to find the door is open whenever we have called to discuss our situation, in particular so far, London Borough of Southwark, Bulb Energy, Crystal Palace FC and our own supporters’ trust.”

Southwark council helped the club secure local funding, and Crystal Palace, whose under-23s side use the Hamlet’s pitch, made it clear they will provide support if need be. 

Dulwich has offered Champion Hill to nearby King’s College Hospital for use. “Due to our proximity to King’s we have offered the use of the stadium and surrounding lands to the NHS whilst they are evaluating what they need,” Clasper said.