Macclesfield Town FC have announced they will be putting their players and staff on furlough as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will pay 80% of employee wages, but the club said they will cover the remaining 20% meaning they will be on their normal salary for now.

The club said in a statement: "This will unquestionably help to safeguard the roles of all those employed by the Football Club. Yet this isn't to say that these uncharted times won't present us with unique challenges which we will need to navigate.

"Like every single business out there, we are in many ways engulfed within the great unknown and have to react to what is thrown at us in the best way we can."

The club said that with the uncertainty surrounding professional football, they hope the measures taken will "protect the long-term viability of the Football Club".

The statement went on to thank the chancellor, Rishi Sunak for allowing clubs to be part of the scheme and their employees for agreeing to the terms.

In order to keep the club running, skeleton staff will remain employed on their normal contracts.