London: The Premier League is adamant that it can overcome huge logistical challenges to get players back on the pitch during the coronavirus crisis but has long since accepted there will be no fans in the stadiums.
English Football Association chairman Greg Clarke became the latest senior figure to admit this week that social-distancing guidelines make it impossible for supporters to congregate in stadiums “any time soon”. The drive behind the Premier League’s “Project Restart” is the attempt to avoid having to pay back millions in TV revenue. Clubs could reportedly miss out on 762 million pound ($946 million) for failing to complete this season alone. According to UEFA’s latest European Club Footballing Landscape report, just 13 percent of the Premier League’s revenue comes from gate receipts. England’s top tier therefore has the luxury many other leagues cannot afford of trying to ride out the economic storm without paying fans coming to watch in the stadium. “We might not like it, it might not be the perfect solution, but it is the only solution that we’ve got to move forward,” David Webber, a senior lecturer in football studies at Solent University, told AFP.
However, the billions in television revenues the Premier League has been able to tap into is not only thanks to the quality of the players on the field but the atmosphere provided by thousands of passionate fans. “The whole economic model only works when the grounds are pretty full,” said Richard Scudamore, who oversaw the Premier League’s growth into a vast commercial giant from 1999 to 2018. “No actor likes playing in front of an empty hall,” he told the Telegraph.
The last time a ball was kicked in the Premier League was on March 9 and it will not return until June at the earliest, with Liverpool’s title coronation on hold for now. After such a long and unexpected lay-off, league bosses are hoping there will be an insatiable demand for their product. Allowing fans to buy “virtual season tickets” to watch every match live has even been mooted as an idea to help mitigate the loss of matchday income. (AFP)
