Owner fears majority of EFL could go bust
FOOTBALL
HUDDERSFIELD Town owner Phil Hodgkinson says ‘50 or 60’ clubs in the EFL could go bust due to the financial impact of coronavirus.
Hodgkinson, speaking in an interview with BBC Sport, fears there will be ‘no football pyramid’ if clubs don’t come to an agreement within football to ensure clubs can pay their bills.
The Terriers owner has experience in the lower leagues having previously owned National League North side Southport, and he says clubs within the EFL face an uncertain future due to Covid-19.
He said: “The problem is not whether we finish [this] season or not, it is what happens after that.
“If we don’t come to an agreement there will be no football pyramid.
There are clubs I know of that are only still trading because they are deferring wages and [tax] and other creditors. They will need paying at some point,” Hodgkinson said.
“There is an absolutely real, stark probability that if something isn’t agreed now within football to ensure all clubs can pay their bills and get through to the point where income is resumed, you will be looking at 50 or 60 clubs ceasing to exist.
Genuinely, I am talking about that many.”
Championship clubs have been given the go-ahead to return to training this week, but while clubs near towards a return to action Hodgkinson says the discussion over the long-term impact of Covid-19 is being avoided.
He said: “It will cost each club between £150,000 and £200,000 for testing to get to the end of the season,” he said. “But what happens after that?
“We have been told by the government that there will be no large gatherings until there is a vaccine and that is likely to be in 2021. That means football clubs will lose a vast proportion of their income outside of any broadcast money, which is likely to be significantly reduced or clawed back anyway.
“In normal revenue, we are looking at losing between £7m and £10m. The claw-back for TV is going to be £10m-£30m. That is just us. So, what is football going to do to ensure the entire pyramid survives this? The discussion is being avoided. For the next three, six or 12 months clubs are going to have no income.”
Hodgkinson says one solution could be players taking an agreed salary cut at all levels until fans are allowed back into stadiums – which could potentially not happen until the 2021/22 season.
“The players are not to blame,” he said. “But the reality is, the players have to be part of the solution because if clubs go bust, their contracts won’t get met anyway.
“They may not like me saying this, but [players’ union] the PFA need to put in place salary cuts of between 30% and 50% for all players at all levels until such a time as crowds are allowed back into football stadiums and income streams return.
“These are ideas. They may not be the right ones. But something has to be done because everyone knows what is coming and people are just sticking their heads in the sand.”