COVID cost US$ 7,907 million to European clubs, according to UEFA

The COVID-19 pandemic has cost European football 7 billion euros ($7.907 million) in two years, UEFA says in a report published on Thursday, noting a clear setback in the transfer markets for the years. 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.

According to the body that directs European football, the clubs of their continent stopped earning 4,000 million euros (US $ 4,517 million) in the 2019-2020 campaign and 3,000 million euros (US $ 3,388 million) in the following year, after 20 years of uninterrupted growth.

The cause of this is mainly due to what was lost due to the closure of the stadiums and the games behind closed doors (4,400 million euros, US$ 4,969 million), due to the decrease in commercial and sponsorship activities (a projection of 1,700 million euros of decrease, about US$ 1,920 million) and for the impact on television rights (900 million euros, US$ 1,016 million).

These results are in line with the forecasts unveiled by the body in May 2021, which contemplated a setback forecast of 7.2 billion euros (US$ 8.134 million) in two years, taking into account a global of 711 first division clubs in Europe.

This new study includes the consolidated results of those same 700 clubs for the year 2020, as well as the anticipated financial balances of 95 large entities for the year 2021, especially marked also by the closure of the stadiums to the public or by capacity limitations, all this due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compared to 2019, revenue from ticket sales fell by 88% in 2021.

Market in recovery?

UEFA also analyzed the impact of COVID on the transfer market.

“Transfer revenue decreased 40% in the Summer 2020, January 2021 and Summer 2021 markets″ in relation to its level of origin, underlines the organization, estimating at 3,800 million euros (US $ 4,293 million) the expenses of European clubs in the summer (boreal) of 2021, in contrast to the 6,500 million euros (US $7.343 million) spent in that same market in 2019, before the pandemic.

UEFA also insists on the economic recovery observed in recent months: the “fans seem to want more than ever to return to the stadium”, highlighting a rebound in market spending in the January 2022 window in Europe.

In that first market of 2022 in Europe, 950 million euros (US $ 1,073 million) were spent, which represents a decline of just 10% compared to the average of the January markets between 2017 and 2019.

In the big leagues, France, a victim in addition to the withdrawal of Mediapro as broadcaster of the matches, is the one that sees how its clubs are most strongly affected, with global income falling by 29% since March 2020.

The decrease is 20% in global figures for clubs from England, Germany and Spain, and 26% for those from Italy.