Premier League players have announced an initiative to donate funds to National Health Service charities in an effort to fight the Covid-19 outbreak.
In a statement released on Wednesday, a collective of players confirmed the launch of the "Players Together" initiative, which will "quickly grant funds to the NHS frontline."
There has been much discussion over how Premier League players can best help fight the coronavirus, which has caused more than 7,000 deaths in the UK thus far according to government figures.
The Premier League confirmed last week that its clubs agreed to consult with their players over a 30 per cent reduction in salary, a proposal that was not popular with a host of players.
Many, including Wayne Rooney, believed that a targeted donation would be more effective than players reducing their wages, which would ultimately give money back to clubs.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been in talks with other club captains in recent days, looking to create a fund that would help those who need it most.
And such a fund has now been introduced, with the Players Together initiative set up to "help those fighting for us on the NHS frontline."
"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," a statement read.
"This is a critical time for our country and for our NHS, and we are determined to help in any way that 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."
"The contributions that this initiative will generate will help NHSCT quickly grant funds 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," the statement continued.
"#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 this country, make a real difference."
