Can Small Soccer Clubs Continue After the Pandemic?
FC Barcelona looks at their future budget to see if they can stay afloat after the pandemic. Although they are about €460 million in debt, they said they will be fine. This raises some questions like, can small soccer clubs continue after the pandemic?
Barcelona will be selling their Camp Nou title next season so it can help raise money for the fight against Covid-19. The contract is still open for a debate on how long it will be raising money to help fight. This hits home after the first Barca vice president, Jordi Cardoner I Casaus, finally recovered from the virus. With the 10,000 people who have died in the Catalonia region, Barca has declared its want to help fight the pandemic.
All Barca players have agreed to take a 72% pay cut during the pandemic in order to help pay their 500 full-time staff their regular wage. The players have been open to taking a pay cut in order to help the club.
Barca has lost €50 million in ticket sales, €39 million in TV income, and around €20 million in-shop sales. The club has reported that it has taken a €120- €140 million cuts on this season. This is a large amount of money considering the fact that they have a large amount of debt.
Although Barca will be fine, some smaller clubs are going to be struggling to stay afloat when things return back to normal. There are suggestions that there could be a player swap instead of having transfers to avoid fees. If so, this will be a good thing for smaller clubs since it may give them a better chance of getting players.
But there is also no guarantee on when sports will resume. So far, Germany is the only one with a set date. The government approved for teams to return training on May 9. However, when games return, they will stay behind closed doors. If the closed-door policy continues into next season, teams will be struggling by the loss of stadium income.
Let’s hope the small clubs can still make it by after the pandemic.
