As many clubs continue to work through the implications of the global pandemic on their finances, Arsenal confirmed today (January 7) that the club has met the criteria set by the Bank of England for the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).

In a statement released by the club, they confirmed that they are “taking a short-term £120 million loan through this facility to partially assist in managing the impact of the revenue losses attributable to the pandemic. This is a similar approach to that taken by a wide variety of major organisations across many industries including sport, and is repayable in May 2021.”

Tottenham Hotspur (£175m) and the Football Association (£175m) have used the same scheme, however, few clubs/organisations qualify as it has very strict criteria.

“The CCFF is designed to provide short-term finance at commercial rates during the pandemic to companies that have strong investment ratings and which make significant contributions to the British economy,” the statement continued.

“The CCFF is in addition to the loan provided by our owners Kroenke, Sports & Entertainment that enabled us to refinance the debt on Emirates Stadium in August last year,” it concluded.