The South West Peninsula League, together with its sponsors, has pledged £12,000 to its member clubs to help keep them going amid the coronavirus pandemic.

League sponsors Kitchen Kit and League Cup sponsors Walter C Parson have joined forces with the SWPL to agree a total package of around £12,000 for the 40 clubs across the league's two divisions.

With the suspension of all football and subsequent voiding of the season meaning no gate receipts or prize money, and with the Government's decision to close all pubs and clubs meaning no income from clubhouses, the money will go towards helping clubs who may be suffering financially from being closed.

The total fund is made up of £5,000 in prize money not now being used, £5,000 from the league's own cash reserves, £1,000 from the cancellation of the proposed rise in fees this summer, and an extra injection of £1,000 from Walter C Parson on top of the normal sponsorship.

This money will be used to ensure that none of the 40 member clubs have to pay any annual fees for both the league and cup for the 2020/21 season.

The league also announced that its annual South West Peninsula Football League Benevolent Fund fee of £20 per club will still be required, but invoices will not go out until games are back up and running.

It also called for clubs and organisations in the professional game to support those lower down the pecking order, who are struggling financially in this difficult time.

A statement from the league read: "Following the announcement by the Football Association last week that football at steps 3 to 7 has now ceased for the 19/20 season, the league has turned its attention to its member clubs.

"The 40 clubs in membership are all vital parts of their local communities and they stretch across the whole of Devon & Cornwall, from Penzance to Axminster. These clubs, like huge sections of the voluntary and sporting sectors, are suffering financially from being closed.

"Only some of the larger clubs with clubhouses and employees are likely to receive government help through measures announced, but none are going to be able to make up for the lack of gate money, fund raising, sponsorship etc.

"The South West Peninsula League will happily join the call that the professional game, the national bodies and the huge TV income at the top of the game should assist clubs, but equally we know that we too must also do our best for our own clubs."