PARIS, May 5: French first-division football clubs lost 645 million euros ($678 million) during the coronvirus-hit 2020-21 season, the league’s financial watchdog said Thursday, indicating the struggles of French football.
The DNCG said 17 of the 20 teams in Ligue 1 lost money last season.
Match revenues took a huge hit as games were held without fans from October onward and with limited capacity set at 5,000 before that.
Only Saint-Etienne, Rennes and Dijon – which was relegated – stayed in the green.
The total amount lost was 140 percent higher than the total of 269 million euros ($283 million) lost during the 2019-20 campaign, which was called off with 10 matches left as the pandemic hit.
Even though that season ended early, clubs still grossed 170 million euros ($179 million) from ticket sales, a total that dropped massively last season to barely 8 million euros ($8.4 million).
For example, Paris Saint-Germain’s ticket receipts fell from 38 million euros ($40 million) to 961,000 euros ($1 million).
Lyon fared marginally better, dropping from 35.5 million euros ($37.3 million) to 2 million euros ($2.1 million). (AP)
