Faced with mounting concerns and daily updates about the crisis wrought by the coronavirus pandemic on the global soccer industry, FIFA is drawing up plans for an emergency relief fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The fund, should global soccer leaders sign off on it, would amount to the biggest response from any major sports governing body to the financial effects of the pandemic.
As in other parts of the global economy, movement restrictions to reduce the spread of the disease have halted the cash flow in a business in which long-term financial planning is typically treated as a luxury, with gate receipts and broadcast and sponsorship income largely committed to player salaries and transfer market trading.
That has led several federations, clubs and leagues to declare themselves to be in a state of financial distress. This week, MSK Zilina, a seven-time Slovak champion, declared bankruptcy, and Uruguay’s federation laid off 400 staff members because all soccer activities had been suspended.
Even the biggest teams have not been immune to the first shutdown of its kind since World War II. Barcelona and Juventus announced pay reductions for their multimillionaire playing roster, and others have followed suit.
“FIFA is in a strong financial situation, and it’s our duty to do the utmost to help them in their hour of need,” FIFA said in a statement Tuesday after publication of this article online. “Therefore, we confirm FIFA is working on possibilities to provide assistance to the football community around the world after making a comprehensive assessment of the financial impact this pandemic will have on football.”
The scale of the crisis was brought into focus in a letter sent to the members of the European Club Association, an umbrella body for more than 200 top division clubs in Europe, by the organization’s chairman, Andrea Agnelli.
