Brighton players make six figure donation to charities hit by coronavirus

More news to make you proud to be a Brighton & Hove Albion fan during the coronavirus pandemic has come out of the Amex with the announcement that the first team squad have donated a six figure sum to local charities.

The players have launched the Albion as One Fund, into which they have payed a significant portion of their April wages. Tony Bloom has followed in their lead by making a donation, as have other members of the staff.

This money will then be distributed to good causes so that they may continue their work in the community. Many organisations in Sussex have struggled to remain operational over the last month, due to both lockdown measures and a drying up of donations and income. The Albion as One Fund aims to help plug that gap in their finances.

It isn’t the first donation to charities that Brighton players have made during the coronavirus crisis. According to the Albion, the first team squad made a private donation to three local organisations in March.

Going forward, the Albion have said that the fund may be opened up to supporters to contribute. That will certainly appeal to those who wish to help but aren’t sure how to do so; donating through the Albion should ensure that money ends up where it is most needed in Brighton & Hove and the surrounding area.

Lewis Dunk and Glenn Murray have led the efforts to set up the Albion as One Fund. Murray said, ““The people of Brighton & Hove and across Sussex have always been there for this football club going back a long way, and as players and representatives of the club we want to show the same support we’ve had from our community, week in, week out for so long.”

It’s just the latest move in what has been an exemplary response from Brighton throughout the coronavirus outbreak. The club committed to paying all matchday staff for the final five home games of the season, despite the fact they may never take place.

They then donated hospitality food from the cancelled Arsenal fixture to charities for the homeless in Brighton. Season ticket payments have been put on hold for three months to help struggling fans who may have been placed in furlough or lost their jobs.

The Albion have committed to giving away 1,000 free tickets to NHS Staff once football recommences and Graham Potter, Paul Barber and Dan Ashworth took voluntary pay cuts to ensure that other staff members could continue to keep their jobs on full pay.

Members of staff have been phoning elderly and vulnerable fans to check in on and them and in the last week, the Amex has been turned into a coronavirus testing centre for key workers.

NHS equipment is already being stored on site and the stadium has been offered as an emergency field hospital in an extreme scenario.