The Japan Football Association has approved loans totaling ¥210 million ($1.9 million) to 115 financially strapped soccer clubs, it announced Thursday.
Funds for the first 71 loans, part of a program to keep teams going during the new coronavirus pandemic, have already been transferred after being approved by the JFA's first screening committee last Friday.
In the first two weeks in which applications were accepted, the JFA received loan requests from 138 clubs for a total amount of ¥319 million ($2.97 million). The first phase for loan requests runs until the end of June.
"We're proceeding with a sense of urgency out of our desire to rescue these clubs," JFA President Kozo Tashima said. "Even as early as June, some clubs will be hanging on by a shoestring. Our financial resources are limited, but we will do as much as we can."