The recent announcement that the reintroduction of crowds into stadiums was to be put on hold was met with a mixture of horror and disappointment. As supporters, the chance to watch our team live this season seems to be slowly diminishing. Yet, in board rooms across the country, this new reality could have fatal consequences. Any Club who hedged their bets on an October return for spectators will now be looking fearfully into the future. With the furlough scheme now drawn back and the positive cash flow gained by season ticket sales and sponsorship deals slowing, the grip is tightening. Macclesfield’s inevitable demise makes it two League Clubs lost in twelve months, where we stand in twelve months from now must be a cause for considerable concern.
In 2017/2018 League Two Clubs lost £13,500 per week on average, an overall loss of over £19 Million across the division. This is with supporters. Colchester United Chairman Robbie Cowling gave an interesting insight into the COVID income revenue recently and it was damning in its simplicity. The U’s income is around £54,000 on a regular Match Day. With their Ifollow subscriptions around 450 for the opening home league fixture against Bolton Wanderers, the income was reduced to around £8,000. A £46,000 loss in game one. If supporters fail to return this season those losses could amass to seven figures. This for a club who were already running losses in excess of two million pounds a season when they could receive supporters. A potential seven figure loss in Match day income is staggering, Macclesfield Town went out of business owing £500,000.
Ifollow is a positive facility. To watch League games for a £10 fee seems a fair price and it has improved in recent months. However, with Club’s pocketing around 80% of the purchase price, as generous as that appears, it in no way covers the loss in Match Day revenue. A family of four would purchase four tickets, perhaps a programme and probably refreshments. That same family will purchase just one Ifollow pass. Quite the drop in income. I would also suggest that those that enjoy lower league football do not have the same appetite for it on screen. Many that would happily attend a game at the Park may not be as eager without the sense of community and excitement you get with Live sport. For example, my Dad, at 76 years old, has no inclination to watch a streamed game but would have been present at all the games at the Park had they been available to attend.
So how do we “save” football? The Government has suggested that they are unwilling to offer funding to the EFL and you can understand why. Championship sides, under their own leadership, ran up losses of over £300 million in 2017/2018. Should public money be used to prop up businesses that have proved time and time again they are incapable of running to a budget? Championship Club’s spending this transfer window has exceeded £50 million, a drop off on recent years, but still a significant amount, so how desperate are they? Lower down the ladder the need for assistance becomes greater, but the story is similar it is simply the amounts of money that get smaller. COVID has damaged football immeasurably, but football was already wounded. If you fail continuously to balance income and expenditure then the variable of what has happened over the past nine months will inevitably leave the business in a near fatal position. EFL Club’s do not have rainy day funds.
The return of supporters would help, but that process will be a long one. Bars and Restaurants have reopened, but once you factor in social distancing measures, they are barely running at half capacity. It would be the same for football grounds. The other issue would be that, rightly, season ticket holders would get priority and, to be blunt, Club’s have already had their money and so the gain would not be significant to begin with. At Exeter, as an example, the road to having 5,000 spectators back at SJP, with around 3,5000 of them paying at the gate, appears months away. Sadly, I would be surprised if it happens this season.
The Premier League looks the most likely source for a rescue package and that would make the most sense given the undeniable wealth of that division. However, I cannot help but take the emotion out of the equation and ask “Would Sainsbury’s, as a richer top tier business, bail out a corner shop just because they were part of the retail family?” No they would not. Would they be expected to? No again. So is it really the Premier League’s responsibility to bail out the EFL? I anticipate they will and as so many Club’s are at the heart of their communities, and fundamental to what is great about football in this country, any bail out will be well received. Football Clubs are a lot more than football on a Saturday afternoon, the work completed by Community schemes during the week are as vital as any result or goal, the livelihoods of those that contribute to assisting their local community is as important as any other consideration.
However, taking League Two as an example, Club’s already receive close to £900,000 in “free” money from the EFL and the Premier League each season. The latter offering their funds under the guise of a “solidarity payment.” Despite that, they still lose close to that same figure each, per season. Now the demand is for more. This needs to be a moment where football in this country looks itself in the mirror and says “enough.” If Club’s continue to mismanage themselves is it really fair that the football community, as it is so loved to be called, keep bailing them out? From top to bottom there needs to be measures in place so that club’s running losses get punished. Watching Club’s stare over the edge of the cliff and see the resulting out pour of sympathy is sad to see, but when that Club publishes losses year after year is it any wonder that the end result is the trauma of possible extinction? Football has been self harming for too long, it needs an intervention and I hope this is that moment. Survival of all 92 League Clubs is paramount, but football clubs are like that mate who begs for £20 to pay an important bill, and then posts on Facebook the next week about his new 65″ Television. Football needs to start taking care of itself and it needs to start now.
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