Dundalk have become the latest SSE Airtricity League club to safeguard the jobs of their staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The League of Ireland is on hold until mid-June at the very earliest as a result of coronavirus. It's hoped the season can resume in a shortened form and reach its completion by December.
But the lack of games sadly means a savaging of their regular income and that has led to clubs like Drogheda United, Cork City and Sligo Rovers all being forced into making staff temporarily redundant or deferring payments.
Others have been more fortunate, with Dublin rivals Bohemians and Shelbourne both guaranteeing wages for the foreseeable future.
Dundalk have joined that latter band of clubs, telling its staff that the "Board of Directors is committed to keeping stability in your daily lives and homes as we all get through this difficult time."
Addressing the "Dundalk FC family", the statement from the Board of Directors in full reads:
We are proud of all of your efforts thus far to instil a sense of stability and community as COVID-19 continues to spread around the world. The world is a very different place than it was a year ago, a month ago and even a few weeks ago. Times like these bring uncertainty and stress to us all.
Although these are stressful times, the Board of Directors would like to make sure that no member of Dundalk FC is stressed about losing their job and wages. You will all continue to be paid and the Board of Directors is committed to keeping stability in your daily lives and homes as we all get through this difficult time.
We ask that everyone continues to follow government guidance and team policies as we can all do our part to beat COVID-19. We also wish you all health, happiness and safety.’
We also want to thank our loyal sponsors for being there with us through the suspension of play. We also want to thank our season ticket holders for their ongoing support. Without the commitment of our sponsors and season ticket holders, we would not be able to make this commitment to our employees. Please support our sponsors to the extent that you are able during this crisis and, especially, once the crisis has passed.
As noted in the club’s communication of March 14th, we take pride in the supporters and volunteers who have offered to assist the elderly and vulnerable in our community. We applaud you for that and we thank you for your continuing support of Dundalk FC.
We wish each and every one of you the best of health and look forward to seeing all of you at Oriel Park very soon.
