The global governing body of football, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), claims that the pandemic is likely to cost club football one-third of its original value.
Initially, FIFA along with its consultants had estimated the club game to be worth between $40 billion and $45 billion worldwide, but now it has reduced to $14 billion this year.
Football has been hit very badly by the pandemic. Most of the professional clubs are facing financial issues and Covid-19 has created turmoil at all levels. Some of the English Premier League clubs are struggling with sponsors, as most of them have terminated the contract and are struggling to get new brands on board.
Although, the game has started slowly after three months, but it has already made the situation worse. There is a serious concern for the Youth academies and clubs, because all the development that has been done is washed away in a matter of no time.
Most of the member associations are also facing a lot of issues and have approached FIFA to rescue them. FIFA has also allocated $1.5 billion to tackle the pandemic wherein, 150 of the 211 member associations have so far applied for funds.
Rehn, a former EU commissioner and now governor of the Bank of Finland, said, “It is a real danger that the good work that has been done developing football in Asia and Africa could be ruined, so we want to soften the blow and maintain the development that has been done. We cannot rule out worse developments and that would be another ball game if the pandemic were to continue in a severe form next year. Now we are working on the basis of the current scenario.”