The National League Trust Ltd - Charities report - 20.2

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 07877720 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1145603

Report of the Trustees and

Audited Financial Statements

for the Year Ended 31 May 2020

for

The National League Trust Ltd

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

4

Report of the Independent Auditors

5

to

6

Statement of Financial Activities

7

Balance Sheet

8

Cash Flow Statement

9

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

10

Notes to the Financial Statements

11

to

17

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with

the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 May 2020. The trustees have adopted the provisions of

Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their

accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)

(effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims for the public benefit

The objectives of the charity are to promote the physical education of children and young persons, community

participation in healthy recreation by providing facilities for playing football or other sports capable of improving

physical health, to assist in providing facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation of persons who have need

for such facilities by reasons of age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social economic circumstances or for the public

at large in the interests of social welfare, and to advance the education of children and young people and provide

opportunities for them to develop their full capacities to enable them to become responsible members of society.

Individual schemes are run by Club Community Organisations (CCOs) of member clubs of The National League and

these are grant aided by the charity through donations from the Premier League and Professional Footballers Association

Charity.

The trustees confirm they have reviewed the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public

benefit when reviewing the Trust's aims and objectives and in planning future activities and setting the grant making

policy.

Grantmaking

The Trust invites applications for grants from CCOs of member clubs of The National League towards schemes in line

with the Trust's aims and objectives. If accepted by the trustees, CCOs of clubs in the Premier Division can be awarded a

grant of 65% of the projected costs with a maximum of £25,000 and CCOs of clubs in the North and South Divisions

can be awarded a grant of 75% with a maximum of £20,000.

Since 2016/17 the Trust has worked with the Premier League Charitable Fund to create a new grant programme as part

of the PLCF's Premier League Primary Stars. This is an education programme that connects learning to the world of

sport to enthuse pupils when tackling challenging topics. It is linked to the national curriculum and is available to every

primary school in England and Wales. It uses the appeal of the Premier League and professional football clubs to

improve and enhance physical education (PE) and other curriculum areas, developing skills and values. Only National

League CCOs with charitable status are able to apply to this programme. In 2017/18 grants were available at the rate of

100% up to a ceiling of £12,000. In 2018/19 two tiers of funding were created: Tier 5 with grants of £25,000 per

academic year for those CCOs who were experienced in delivering the programme and Tier 6 with grants of £15,000 for

smaller CCOs, and those delivering for the first time. These link with the funding programme managed by the PLCF for

Premier League and English Football League CCOs who can apply for funding for Tiers 1 to 4. In 2019/20 grants at

Tier 5 were offered to cover two years: 2019/20 and 2020/21.

In 2018/19 the Trust worked with the Wembley National Stadium Trust (WNST) to create a pilot programme, funding

Women and Girls development at selected CCOs. These were chosen in partnership with the FA, based on capability

and geographical location. The aim was to demonstrate if National League CCOs could be an effective vehicle for

encouraging more females to play football. Funding was available as 100% of the project costs and at three levels to fit

the size of each project: £12,000, £10,000 or £6,000. The hope is that, if successful, the pilot project would grow into a

permanent funding programme open to all eligible CCOs.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Charitable activities

Since taking over responsibility of the scheme on 1 April 2012 the trust has approved grants of £8,416,284. In the year

84 grants were made to 42 CCOs (2019 - 72 grants to 44 CCOs). The total value of these grants was £1,616,512 to

projects costing £2,646,212 (2019 - grants of £1,251,292 to projects costing £2,162,883). These projects included

working with young people at risk of offending, supporting health initiatives, cheerleading, music, dance and other arts

activities, encouraging volunteering, working with young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs),

helping different disability groups to play sport, creating educational initiatives for adults and children, working with

isolated community groups, green projects, healthy eating and lifestyle and working in partnership with schools to

deliver football coaching and other initiatives.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Principal funding sources

The principal funding source is the Professional Footballers Association Charity who have donated £1,200,000 and they

have agreed to donate £1,200,000 in 2020/21. Each year £300,000 of the donation has been ring-fenced for the Premier

League Primary Stars grant programme.

Reserves policy

Free reserves at 31 May 2020 amounted to £245,987 (2019 - £558,192). These are held for future grant claims and

support costs in 2020/21 in restricted funds. At all times the Trust has an uncommitted reserve of £100,000. Interest will

continue to be received on the cash deposits and the trustees consider there are sufficient reserves to cover all

expenditure in the coming year.

FUTURE PLANS

The charity plans to continue the activities in 2020/21 following the funding pledge as above and to complete the

projects started in previous periods.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, the articles of association, and constitutes a limited company,

limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. In the event of the company being wound up the member is

required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Trustees

The charity is governed by the Trustees who meet four times a year and the meetings are attended by S O'Brien the

project manager, who acts in an advisory and reporting capacity only. Each year one third of the trustees must retire but

they may be reappointed and there must be a minimum of three at all times.

The trustees have been selected for their experience in football administration, knowledge of the beneficiary clubs and

general business skills, together with their prominence as community figures. N J Perchard and T Angus have also been

appointed as representatives of the major donors to assist with the objectives of the charity being met.

Organisational structure

All decisions are made by the trustees at their meetings. The administration of the scheme is handled by the project

manager, S O'Brien, who deals directly with each applicant and reports to the trustees on the proposed projects and

advises on all payments to be made.

Related parties

Details of related parties and related party transactions are given in note 14 to the financial statements.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

07877720 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1145603

Registered office

4th Floor

Waterloo House

20 Waterloo Street

Birmingham

B2 5TB

Trustees

R O Faulkner

B R Lee MBE

D Leman (resigned 5.2.20)

N J Perchard

P G Fairclough

T Angus (appointed 5.2.20)

Auditors

Boardman Conway

Statutory Auditors

23A High Street

Weaverham

Northwich

Cheshire

CW8 3HA

Solicitors

Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP, 2-6 Cannon Street, London EC4M 6YH

Bankers

National Westminster Bank plc, Northwich, Cheshire

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of The National League Trust Ltd for the purposes of company law) are

responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and

United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view

of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including

the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the

trustees are required to

-	select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-	observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;

-	make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

-	prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time

the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with

the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for

taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

-	there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and

-	the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of Companies Act 2006 relating to

small companies.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 3 March 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

B R Lee MBE - Trustee

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The National League Trust Ltd (the 'charitable company') for the year ended

31 May 2020 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and

notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting

framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards

(United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

-	give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 May 2020 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

-	have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

-	have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law.

Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the

financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical

requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard,

and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit

evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to

you where:

-	the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or

-

the trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the charitable company's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the

Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise

explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing

so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge

obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or

apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial

statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude

that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to

report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

-	the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-	the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of

the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you

if, in our opinion:

-	adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

-	the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

-	certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

-	we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

-	the trustees were not entitled to take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report or in preparing the Report of the Trustees.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the

charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and

for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary

to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to

continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern

basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have

no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from

material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our

opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance

with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error

and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the

economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting

Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the

Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of

the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's

members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest

extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the

charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Steven Conway FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Boardman Conway

Statutory Auditors

23A High Street

Weaverham

Northwich

Cheshire

CW8 3HA

9 March 2021

31.5.20

31.5.19

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

2

-

1,200,000

1,200,000

1,300,000

Investment income

3

-

2,500

2,500

1,551

Total

-

1,202,500

1,202,500

1,301,551

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

4

Grants to Club Community Organisations (CCOs)

-

1,514,705

1,514,705

1,377,527

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

-

(312,205

)

(312,205

)

(75,976

)

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

-

558,192

558,192

634,168

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

-

245,987

245,987

558,192

31.5.20

31.5.19

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

10

-

2,935

2,935

4,050

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

11

-

460

460

51,152

Cash at bank

-

1,219,613

1,219,613

1,404,134

-

1,220,073

1,220,073

1,455,286

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

12

-

(977,021

)

(977,021

)

(901,144

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

-

243,052

243,052

554,142

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

-

245,987

245,987

558,192

NET ASSETS

-

245,987

245,987

558,192

FUNDS

13

Restricted funds

245,987

558,192

TOTAL FUNDS

245,987

558,192

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 3 March 2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

B R Lee MBE - Trustee

N J Perchard - Trustee

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

(187,021

)

(121,802

)

Net cash used in operating activities

(187,021

)

(121,802

)

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

-

(3,524

)

Interest received

2,500

1,551

Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities

2,500

(1,973

)

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period

(184,521

)

(123,775

)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period

1,404,134

1,527,909

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period

1,219,613

1,404,134

1.	RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

31.5.20

31.5.19

£

£

Net expenditure for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities)

(312,205

)

(75,976

)

Adjustments for:

Depreciation charges

1,115

705

Interest received

(2,500

)

(1,551

)

Decrease/(increase) in debtors

50,692

(45,162

)

Increase in creditors

75,877

182

Net cash used in operations

(187,021

)

(121,802

)

2.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1.6.19

Cash flow

At 31.5.20

£

£

£

Net cash

Cash at bank

1,404,134

(184,521

)

1,219,613

1,404,134

(184,521

)

1,219,613

Total

1,404,134

(184,521

)

1,219,613

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been

prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement

of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial

Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015)',

Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of

Ireland', the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under

the historical cost convention.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled

to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Voluntary income by way of donations are included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when

receivable.

Bank interest is included in the period it accrues.

Resources expended

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs

related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated

to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. The charity is not registered for VAT, and

expenditure is analysed inclusive of VAT where this has been incurred.

Support costs comprise those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its

beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect

nature to support them.

Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the

charity and include the audit fee and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.

Grants payable are payments to third parties in the furtherance of the charitable objects of the Trust. Grants are

accounted for in the year in which they are awarded without condition.

Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but

not accrued as expenditure.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and on hand, demand deposits with banks and other short term

highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful

life.

Fixtures and fittings

-

20% straight line

Computer equipment

-

25% straight line

Tangible fixed assets held for the company's own use are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and

accumulated impairment losses. At each balance sheet date, the company reviews the carrying amount of its

tangible fixed assets to determine whether there is any indication that any items have suffered an impairment

loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated in order to determine the

extent of the impairment losses, if any. Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of the asset,

the company estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the assets belongs.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions

arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. In the year to 31

May 2020 all funds are restricted and the balance on the funds are given in the notes to the financial statements.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments.

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transactions value and subsequently measured at their

settlement value.

Trade and other debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered.

Trade and other creditors

Trade and other creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event

and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are recognised at

their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

2.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

31.5.20

31.5.19

£

£

Donations

1,200,000

1,300,000

3.	INVESTMENT INCOME

31.5.20

31.5.19

£

£

Deposit account interest

2,500

1,551

4.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Grant

funding of

activities

Support

(see note

costs (see

5)

note 6)

Totals

£

£

£

Grants to Club Community Organisations (CCOs)

1,401,189

113,516

1,514,705

5.	GRANTS PAYABLE

Year Ended

Year Ended

31.5.20

31.5.19

£

£

Grants to National League CCOs

1,616,512

1,251,292

Community Club Of The Year Awards

-

30,000

Grants withdrawn

(215,323

)

(15,668

)

1,401,189

1,265,624

6.	SUPPORT COSTS

Year Ended

Year Ended

Management

Other

Governance

31.5.20

31.5.19

£

£

£

£

£

Administration support

11,748

-

-

11,748

9,140

Consultancy fees

47,894

-

-

47,894

57,193

Website development

-

216

-

216

1,440

Sundries

-

519

-

519

2,454

Workshops

-

4,219

-

4,219

2,838

Public relations and media costs

-

4,875

-

4,875

5,895

Tournaments

-

10,010

-

10,010

6,982

Travelling

-

753

-

753

1,304

Year end awards costs

-

2,399

-

2,399

522

Computer and software

-

2,193

-

2,193

634

Views monitoring

-

16,817

-

16,817

8,251

Rent and service charges

-

2,100

-

2,100

2,100

Equipment

-

3,350

-

3,350

-

Depreciation of fixtures and fittings

-

705

-

705

294

Depreciation of computer equipment

-

410

-

410

411

Auditors' remuneration

-

-

4.140

4,140

4,500

Auditors' non audit remuneration

-

-

300

300

300

Legal and professional fees

-

-

868

868

7,645

59,642

48,566

5,308

113,516

111,903

7.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

31.5.20

31.5.19

£

£

Auditors' remuneration

4,140

4,500

Other non-audit services

300

300

Depreciation - owned assets

1,115

705

8.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 May 2020 nor for the year ended

31 May 2019.

Trustees' expenses

During the year two trustees were paid a total of £413 (2019 - £735) for travelling and stationery expenses.

9.	STAFF COSTS

The total staff costs for the year ended 31 May 2020 were £11,748 (2019 - £9,140), and these all related to

wages and salaries.

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

31.5.20

31.5.19

Administration

1

1

There were no employees who received employee benefits of more than £60,000.

10.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Fixtures

and

Computer

fittings

equipment

Totals

£

£

£

COST

At 1 June 2019 and 31 May 2020

3,524

1,642

5,166

DEPRECIATION

At 1 June 2019

294

822

1,116

Charge for year

705

410

1,115

At 31 May 2020

999

1,232

2,231

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 May 2020

2,525

410

2,935

At 31 May 2019

3,230

820

4,050

11.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.5.20

31.5.19

£

£

Other debtors

460

51,152