IVAN TORRES
Special to The Leader
U.K. sports are in a crisis.
If you’re not aware, a lot of revenue in sports comes from gate receipts. However, due to COVID-19, many sports leagues are taking a hit financially.
The main reason these leagues are losing money is due to the delay of fans attending the games. Without fans, these leagues are losing out on millions of dollars from ticket sales and concession sales.
According to The Guardian, “The Rugby Football Union warned it would see a reduction in revenue of £122m” and that rugby clubs at the heart of communities across England were “in danger of disappearing forever.”
Not only is the Rugby Football Union in danger, The Premier League is losing out on even more money. The Premier League said that football is set to lose out on £100m per month.
This isn’t just Premier League Football they’re talking about. This includes lower division football including Championship, League One and League Two according to Scott Priestnall, chairman of National League Yeovil.
With the Premier League losing out on millions of pounds in revenue, they are still expected to bailout lower league football teams.
Reuters reported that Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport secretary, Oliver Dowden had spoken to Sky Sports (Premier League coverage team).
He said, “We’re all agreed the Premier League needs to step up to the plate… they’re ready to play their part, the Prime Minister and I have been urging them to do that.”
High-status Premier League managers including Frank Lampard, Juergen Klopp and Chris Wilder have also backed the idea of the Premier League aiding lower division clubs.
However, this is where the dilemma occurs.
According to Financial Times, “ The Premier League, Rugby Football Union, the England and Wales Cricket Board and British Cycling are among a group of 100 sports bodies that have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week.”
These sport bodies are expecting to be reimbursed to avoid the risks of being put out of business.
They are expecting the prime minister to give them a financial package similar to one the arts and culture sector received (£1.5billion).
Other sports are suffering and deserve some compensation such as rugby, cricket and more.
After looking at the replies to the article Financial Times wrote, it seems that the public believes the premier league deserves “not a penny worth of money” and “no sympathy.”
Let’s look at some reasons why this could be. One person responded that the “Premier League won’t get a penny. Man U has billionaire owners. The club is listed, they can dilute their equity and they will have billions.”
Not only do Manchester United have billionaire owners, but so do 14 other football clubs according to Talksport.
The premier league is filled with billionaire owners, but many people responded that the premier league pays their athletes way too much.
If the premier league needs to save money, then it should come from cutting players’ salaries.
According to The Sun, there are 10 players in the Premier League who are making over or equal to £220k weekly off of playing for their respective teams, with no endorsements included.
Overall, bigger leagues may not need financial support. However, leagues who receive less in revenue who are dependent on fans need help.
The main question is: who will step up to aid these leagues if it’s not the Prime Minister or the English Premier League?
Will sports leagues in the U.K. go bankrupt and be forced to shut down? Only time will tell