Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com Soccer executive warns of clubs going bankrupt
‘A lot of uncertainty’
GENEVA, May 14, (AP): Soccer faces losing many clubs to bankruptcy because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A slowdown in the multi-billion dollar transfer market, and possible defaults on payments from player deals made before the shutdown, were cited as concerns in a debate hosted by a FIFA-backed research center on Wednesday.
“I think the biggest threat to club football in the coming six months is going to be the survival of smaller clubs,” Lokomotiva Zagreb director Dennis Gudasic said.
Gudasic warned of a “drastic situation whereby we have maybe 100, or 200 clubs go bankrupt in September or October” if challenges facing smaller clubs are not understood.
Clubs across Europe have been denied commercial revenue with no games in most countries for at least two months, and only fan-free games in empty stadiums likely for months ahead.
Back in March, European Club Association (ECA) leader Andrea Agnelli predicted clubs faced “an existential threat.” The Juventus president described the coronavirus outbreak as “the biggest challenge our game and industry has ever faced.”
Now, many clubs are looking for richer leagues to complete their seasons so that money paid by broadcasters for fulfilling contracts can revive the transfer market.
“This is where there is a lot of uncertainty,” Gudasic said, adding some clubs in Croatia in terms of budgeting had become “actually addicted” to transfer revenue from their former players.
His comments came in an online panel discussion hosted by the International
In this Dec. 20, 2015, file photo, Guangzhou Evergrande FC’s Zheng Long, right, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s Tsukasa Shiotani, left, leap to head the ball during their match for the third place at the FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament in Yokohama, near Tokyo. The Chinese Super League is reportedly set to kick off in the last week of June 2020, two weeks after lower-tier leagues are scheduled to begin in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has
shut down sports globally. (AP)
The Chinese Super League is reportedly set to kick off in the last week of June, two weeks after lower-tier leagues are scheduled to begin in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down sports globally.
Chinese state media report the top-flight season could begin June 24 if case numbers continue to subside, while the People’s Daily newspaper reported the proposed starting date as June 27 in a Twitter post on Thursday.
The 16-team league is likely to play a compressed, conference-style competition to make up for the time lost while China was locked down after being the epicenter of the virus outbreak.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 in China has been on the decline and domestic travel restrictions are being gradually eased. But the borders remain closed to non-citizens, meaning some of the high-profile foreign players and coaches could be absent when the league gets underway.
There has been speculation that fans will be allowed into stadiums from when the league commences, unlike other parts of the world where play in some sports has resumed or is set to begin in empty venues.
The head of the Chinese football association last week said clubs should implement temporary player pay cuts of 30% to 50% to help teams manage losses from the coronavirus outbreak, suggesting sensible negotiations over the contracts.
China’s national squad began a training camp earlier this week in Shanghai, complete with three foreign-born players who have been naturalized to qualify for international competition.
China’s head coach Li Tie told national news agency, Xinhua, that he hoped to “leverage this period of time to make our players restore their state on the pitch.”
Li said games against club teams Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG was part of the pre-season training plan. t(AP)