This is because Dutch clubs depend much more than their foreign competition on the sale of tickets and croquette sandwiches and beer to the fans. The money that spectators bring in, together with money from sponsors, accounts for about 60 percent of the income of an average professional club.
Wishes for Van Rijn
And so it is ‘five to twelve’, the clubs and football association KNVB warn in their ‘Delta Plan’, in which they ask substitute minister Martin van Rijn (for Medical Care and Sport, PvdA) for financial support and beg to be allowed to play with the public again . The latter wish has now been partially fulfilled, and the public can play with it again from 1 September. But only if the public keeps a meter and a half away.
There is still no clarity about financial support, today there is consultation at the ministry about the request for help. Van Rijn wants to make a decision this week, sources from The Hague report.
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Limited number of spectators
Thanks to the one and a half meter, 20 to a maximum of 30 percent of the number of spectators who normally come to the matches can actually take a seat in the stands again, estimates Jaap Paulsen, spokesperson for the KNVB. “That is certainly very nice for the (present) fans and the atmosphere. Financially it is not cost effective.”
He does not know how much it saves the clubs in income, but the damage of one round without an audience is roughly 8 million. In the – now outdated – scenario that should have been played without an audience until December, the clubs would have missed 204 million euros. And the entire season 2020/21 without an audience, the clubs will cost more than half of their turnover, which is normally 620 million euros.
That would mean bankruptcy for small but probably also medium-sized clubs, the sector fears. Which clubs are worst off is not stated in the ‘Delta Plan’.
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Nearly 100 million went wrong
The failure to finish the last competition already saved the clubs 96 million euros in income. Premier League clubs missed 82 million, clubs from the Kitchen Champion Division 14 million.
This damage item was taken care of by the clubs themselves, but also, for example, thanks to fans who did not request a refund for the tickets they had bought for matches that were never played.
NOW scheme
In addition, almost all 34 professional clubs use the NOW scheme, whereby the government takes over part of the wage costs if the turnover falls by at least 20 percent. The scheme provides the clubs with a total of 60 million with which they can continue to pay the players and other staff.
These millions are very welcome, compared to the more than 400 million that the clubs spend per year on player salaries and other staff. By cutting salaries, the sector itself expects to be able to cut 40 million more.
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140 million hole
With all the pluses and minuses, a gap of 140 million remains in the original Delta Plan, which assumed games without an audience until December. That amount could have been 50 million higher, but the four top clubs Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord and PSV think they will manage without further government support.
To help the rest of the clubs, the sector hopes that Van Rijn will provide support of up to € 12 million per month in the form of loans and gifts.
Solidarity
For clubs that are in acute distress, a solidarity fund with 15 million euros will be introduced under the motto ‘strongest shoulders bear the heaviest burdens’. Half of the amount is a loan from the Eredivisie organization.
The other half comes from the KNVB and the five clubs that play European football, the four top clubs and Willem II. That construction was partly realized as compensation for FC Utrecht, which had a good starting position to play European football, but fished behind the net by breaking off the competition.
Lack of transfer income of 100 million
The calculations do not take into account the collapse of the transfer market, which could put a potential damper of 100 million. Although Dutch clubs rely heavily on this income, the industry itself considers it ‘not appropriate’ to also request compensation from the government for this.
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