Football Association (FA) has taken a massive loan of £175 million from the Bank of England to offset losses caused by the pandemic. The governing body of football in England is expecting to record more losses in the coming months, so they decided to take a loan similar to the one Tottenham Hotspurs did earlier this year. The interest rate for this loan reportedly stands at 0.5 percent.
The loan taken up by FA comes under the UK Government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF). As per this new guideline, organisations that contribute to the economy of the country can take up loans to offset losses due to the pandemic. Since football is one of the most popular sports in England, FA qualified for the scheme.
It remains to be seen what the deadline for FA will be to repay this loan. The football federation has largely suffered these losses due to a lack of fans during England games. Since March, there were no international games for England until early September. Moreover, the possible revenue from Euros 2020 was also cancelled as the tournament was postponed to 2021.
Since September, England has played nine games across three international breaks. The broadcast revenue from these games was a boost for the FA, but all games were played behind closed doors. There were no fans in the gigantic Wembley Stadium, the home stadium of the English team.
The introduction of fans in the stadium for clubs from the first week of December will be welcome news for the FA. By the time the next international break arrives in April, FA will be hoping that a significant number of fans are allowed in the stadium. They will have to make sure that the loan is repaid is as soon as possible or else financial problems will get bigger for them in the next 12-18 months.