Queens Park Rangers chief executive Lee Hoos fears that the Football League will lose clubs due to the financial impact of the current situation.
As had been predicted, not having any games has been a major problem for clubs up and down the country. It has resulted in a significant loss of income, including gate receipts and matchday revenue, and playing behind closed doors could see clubs have to reimburse season-ticket holders and sponsors.
Therefore, it’s a real concern and Hoos outlined just how severe it could be when speaking to Sky Sports, as he explained why those who hadn’t shown enough financial responsibility in the past could seriously suffer.
“It’s pretty severe and it’s a double-whammy. Not only do we have zero income coming in, but the advanced central payments money from the EFL has already been spent. Not only is there zero income, there’s also a huge cheque to write out sometime in the future. At some stage, there is a big wall to be hit.
“I don’t know how people are going to deal with that. It’s going to be a huge problem when the reckoning comes. I think it’s a very realistic possibility that we’ll lose clubs.”
The R’s have already been making decisions to cope, as they confirmed earlier this month that they had furloughed members of the non-playing staff, which means the government will pay 80% of their salary, whilst they announced yesterday that the playing squad had agreed to a three month wage deferral.
It remains to be seen what will happen in the future in terms of finishing the season, although it seems pretty clear that if it can be restarted it will be behind closed doors. The EFL reiterated their desire to complete the campaign over the weekend, however there are serious concerns about the game returning, including how testing will be conducted and what would happen if a player tested positive.
