Sports clubs are under pressure to survive during the coronavirus crisis but it’s not all doom and gloom.

The chairman of Deal Town Football Club - who play in the Southern Counties East Premier Division - is sounding optimistic, even if the club’s savings are being drained during the pandemic.

Football was suspended in March and Deal Town's remaining fixtures were scrapped.

David Chmura said: “The shutdown is harming us big time but the club is on the up.

“We have got absolutely no fear whatsoever. We will be in better order when we get back to playing football it’s just that our savings will be on its knees.

“This has tripped us up slightly but only delayed our progress more than anything.”

Like any other club, Deal still have bills to pay. The curtailment of the 2019/20 SCEFL season meant they lost out in revenue from seven home fixtures.

And with crowds on the up prior to shutdown, that hurt.

But the club received financial support from Dover District Council in the way of a grant and they were also thankful that they didn’t have to pay out for damage to their floodlights caused by Storm Dennis.

Mr Chmura, a former player at Deal, said: “When the shutdown first happened we looked at the finances and we knew we had enough to keep us going for about 10 months.

“Obviously it would decimate our funds and savings and we may have to forgo some of things [we want to do] but we have enough.

“Now is our close season anyway but it is a very strange. The biggest worry is when do we start playing again? It is quite possible we won’t get a game on here until the new year.”

The club secured a 99-year lease on the Charles Ground two years ago, something previous chairman fought hard to achieve. Since then there has been much done.

“We are moving on and we haven’t let this (crisis) beat us or worry us too much,” added the chairman.

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