The Premier League has been suspended atleast till the 30th of April and right now there are concerns over finishing the 2019-20 season.
First, the suspension was scheduled to be lifted after the 3rd of April but then in a meeting on Thursday, it was decided that the date will now be extended since the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of slowing down.
And while some people have urged the authorities to declare the 2019-20 season null and void but many have seriously spoken against this possible decision primarily due to the financial losses that the Premier League will suffer as a result.
Now the estimated loss that the EPL could suffer if it were to cancel this whole season has been revealed by The Athletic.
And Daily Mail quoting the same report has written: “The total outlay would be £762million if the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the 2019-20 campaign.
“This gargantuan sum would be because of a breach in contract terms agreed for domestic and international rights.
“The outlet report that Sky Sports are taking a mammoth hit daily at present, as they struggle predominately to bring in advertising during the enforced hiatus of the season. At the earliest, the resumption of the league will begin on April 30.
“This information was relayed to the 20 Premier League clubs during a meeting in London on Thursday morning.
“The top-flight sides have just received their full allocation of money for the season and some are now keen to play games behind closed doors to ensure that fixtures are fulfilled – and thus, they can keep their broadcast revenue.
“A lot of teams are banking on the broadcast revenue to help them with their own outgoings – which are mainly players’ wages.”
Under normal circumstances, it would be really tough for the Premier League to finish the current season had UEFA not postponed the EURO 2020.
But now that the major summer engagement has been delayed, the domestic leagues across Europe, including the Premier League should be able to wrap up the remainder of their games even if that means having to play behind closed doors and cramping up three matches in one week.
But apart from the losses to the Premier League as a whole, Simon Jordan writing for The Sun has estimated that amount of losses that an individual club might have to suffer even if the games are to be played behind closed doors
Jordan wrote: “If games are required to be played behind closed doors, the loss of income becomes a big factor for every club. They would face losing around five home games’ worth of revenue.
“When you consider walk-up tickets, secondary spend and sponsorship, in League Two clubs would lose an average of £300,000 per club.
“In League One, it would rise to around £550,000 and it would be roughly £1.2million in the Championship.
“An average Premier League club with a crowd of 35,000 would lose out on between £3m and £5m over five games.
“As clubs face having to refund pro-rated season tickets, I have discounted season ticket reimbursements as I would assume — especially in the lower leagues — fans would not demand their money back if it was going to jeopardise the future of their clubs.
“So, given money is a big part of the question as to whether there’s a need for the season’s completion, this is how it looks. There will be a £50m black hole for all clubs outside the top flight and around £100m for those in the Premier League.”
