Crisis could leave FA facing £300m losses

The Football Association fears losses of £300million from sport grinding to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic.

Board members of the governing body met on Thursday when finances dominated the agenda and worst-case scenarios were discussed, with the initial forecast of a £150million impact considered conservative.

With uncertainty over this season’s FA Cup, England matches and events staged at Wembley, the FA executive team cut £75million from the annual budget which could continue for four years to offset the deficit. The possibilities discussed included no football this season, no football for the rest of 2020 and also next season being impacted by Covid-19 and sport being cancelled or pushed back.

An FA spokesperson said: “We are taking the appropriate steps to work through different scenarios that the FA could face as a result of the pandemic, and examine the wider effect on English football going forward. As a result, the FA Board has approved a prudent and sensible cut of £75million to our annual spending budget. This will help us to plan for the future and mitigate against any potential losses of revenue which could materialise.”

Various cost-cutting measures have been looked at and consideration given to pushing back to a later date the completion of paying off Wembley, with the £757million project scheduled to be mortgage-free from 2024.

The FA Cup is at the quarter-final stage and a decision will be taken on remaining games when a plan is made for the rest of the season in the Premier League and English Football League.