PL stars support NHS with £4million donation to fight coronavirus

Premier League players have donated the sum of £4m (four million pounds) to the National Health Service - NHS to help fight the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

The PL has been halted since early March and the UK has so far recorded a total of 60,733 positive cases and 7,097 deaths, according to Worldometers.

The move was led by Manchester United and Liverpool captains, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson, in agreement with the 18 other skippers.

The stars released a statement, pledging “to make a real difference in distributing funds quickly to where it is needed most in this COVID-19 crisis”.

The players have vowed to hand over cash to NHS staff, volunteers and coronavirus patients.

The PL stakeholders had requested that the players take a 30%pay cut last week but the players rejected the idea stating that they preferred a direct donation t the NHS.

The club captains including Tottenham's skipper Harry Kane, posted a statement of the initiative on Twitter as they launched the fund for NHS charities called #PlayersTogether to aid the fight against coronavirus.

The statement reads: "Over the course of the last week we, as a group of Premier League players, have held numerous talks together with the vision of creating a contribution fund that can be used to distribute money to where it's needed most in this COVID-19 crisis; helping those fighting for us on the NHS frontline as well as other key areas of need.

"This is a critical time for our country and for our NHS, and we are determined to help in any way we can.

"We can confirm that after extensive conversations between a huge number of players from all Premier League clubs, we have created our own collective player initiative, #PlayersTogether, and have partnered with NHS Charities Together (NHSCT) in order to assist them in generating and distributing funds quickly and efficiently to where they are needed most.

#PlayersTogether pic.twitter.com/e7uWYIOhL2

— Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson) April 8, 2020

"NHSCT is the national umbrella organisation for over 150 registered NHS charities, working closely with the Charity Commission, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England to represent, champion and support the NHS' official charities. NHSCT are the official charity of the NHS nationally.

"The contributions that this initiative will generate will help NHSCT quickly grant fund to the front line to support in a number of ways, including to help enhance the well-being of NHS staff, volunteers and patients impacted by COVID-19 as well as helping them in their work supporting many other critical areas of need both now and in the longer term.

"#PlayersTogether is about we, as players, collaborating together to create a voluntary initiative, separate to any other club and league conversations, that can help get much-needed funds to those that need it right now.

"To try and help, along with so many others in the country, make a real difference.

"Our prayers and thoughts go out to everybody affected by this crisis. By sticking together, we will get through this.

"Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives. #PlayersTogether"

The Sun/Sky Sports