Bellinzona (Switzerland) (AFP)
The Covid-19 pandemic could cost $ 14 billion to world football, and has already pushed more than 150 federations to seek the help of Fifa, said Wednesday Olli Rehn, who is leading this file within the body.
Between schedule disruptions, empty stadiums and loss of television rights, this estimate "covers the entire football economy" for the 211 member associations of Fifa, including training and youth teams, explained the Finn during of a press briefing.
Without going into details, he said that South American football "had suffered quite heavily" on a continent severely hit by the pandemic, even if "in absolute terms", Europe suffered greater losses.
"More than 150 member associations" have already requested the aid plan of Fifa, endowed with 1.5 billion dollars combining grants and loans, continued the governor of the Central Bank of Finland, former vice-president of the Commission European Union and who has been vice-chairman of the FIFA governance committee since 2017.
This aid is "not limited in time" and aims to allow the federations to "overcome this crisis" in the long term, added Olli Rehn, for whom other member countries "can apply for funds later".
"The demand for subsidies is very strong", exceeding that for loans, while Fifa plans to grant up to $ 1.5 million per member association, and up to $ 2 million per confederation.
In a study published in early July, the European Club Union (ECA) estimated the financial impact of the Covid on the income of European clubs alone at 4 billion euros, calculated over the two seasons 2019-20 and 2020-21.
"A number of clubs risk their existence", underlined last week the influential Andrea Agnelli, president of Juventus and the ECA, explaining that it was necessary to deal with the economic "contraction" of a sector which has long seen grow its sources of revenue.
© 2020 AFP