Six Championship clubs fear for survival without financial bailout

Six Championship clubs have told Sky Sports News that if there is no financial bailout forthcoming they fear for the survival of their club.

In a survey carried out by Sky Sports News, eight clubs also say they have, or will have to, make club staff redundant.

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One club said: “Our survival is absolutely reliant on a financial support package, there is only so much longer we can continue like this.”

Another said: “We can survive in the short and medium term due to player trading and parachute payments but ultimately the club’s finances are fundamentally supported by the return of fans.

“Without that in the medium to long term our business model as a self-financed club no longer works.”

Eight Championship clubs also said they are losing between 15-40 per cent of their revenue due to the loss of matchday income while games continue to be played without fans. That figure is not including direct gate receipts.

The figures come as EFL clubs across all three divisions discussed proposals from top Premier League clubs for ‘Project Big Picture’, which would see radical changes to the game with a £250m bailout and a re-distribution of money to EFL clubs in the future.

The EFL said there was “overwhelming support to discuss the proposals further”, with chairman Rick Parry having been a vocal advocate of the plan.

But there are concerns that Parry’s remarks have frustrated the Premier League and that could jeopardise a potential bailout. One board member at a Premier League club says the feeling among the majority of teams in the division is that Parry should now resign.

The 20 Premier League clubs are holding a video meeting at 11am.

Two Championship clubs told Sky Sports News their survival was not dependant on a bailout and redundancies were not being considered, with a number also declining to comment.

Clubs are able to defer PAYE payments to HMRC until the end of this year and stadium rent can also be put on hold until January.

But one club official warned that it was “kicking the can further down the road and each time we kick it gets bigger”.

Eighty-five per cent of League Two clubs worries about finance

Thirteen League Two clubs responded to a Sky Sports News survey and 85 per cent said they were worried about their current financial situation. Ninety-two per cent were not satisfied with the government’s efforts to get fans back into stadiums.

Earlier this month, a Sky Sports News survey of League One clubs found that 100 per cent felt the Premier League should offer a bailout and none felt the Government had done enough to get fans into stadiums.

If theatres can open, why can’t stadiums?

You can go to the pub. You can go to the theatre. So why can’t you watch your professional team in an open-air stadium?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has postponed plans to partially open up stadiums across the country by up to six months, but socially-distanced audiences have remained able to return to indoor theatres, music and performance venues.

It has left sporting bodies deeply frustrated at what they believe is the Government’s inconsistent coronavirus-containment policy.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden will face questions from MPs on Wednesday, with many clubs warning they are on the brink of financial collapse unless turnstiles reopen or a bailout is agreed.

So is sport being harshly treated? Read more here.

(c) Sky Sports 2020: Six Championship clubs fear for survival without financial bailout