Corona Virus & Football

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 12 Mar 2020, 10:58

It looks likely that Premier League & EFL matches will soon be played behind closed doors or maybe postponed as a result of corona virus restrictions.

I wonder what level this will go down to or will it be based on size of crowd? Boreham Wood on Saturday will be less than 1000 but some non-league games have higher attendances than Football league.

I’m currently planning to come down for the Notts County game on Tuesday but haven’t booked travel yet as can’t be sure it will go ahead.

wodger of awabia · Post by **wodger of awabia** » 12 Mar 2020, 11:21

If matches are played behind closed doors there will not be any money coming in. How many clubs are likely to go under?

torregull · Post by **torregull** » 12 Mar 2020, 13:58

The Premier League appears to be at odds with the EFL over this-playing behind closed doors would have have much more of a financial impact on the smaller clubs than the PL who have the funds to "ride it out".

Post by **Southampton Gull** » 12 Mar 2020, 14:32

The money from attendances is dwarfed by that from sponsorship. As long as there's TV coverage they won't give a damn about the rest of football.

desperado · Post by **desperado** » 12 Mar 2020, 14:38

Very true - I see in the Herald Gary thinks the season may go out like a damp squib
due to Corona. Think it's going out like a damp squib anyway.

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 12 Mar 2020, 14:56

I think it's a question of when not if.
I don't think matches should be played behind closed doors.
Suspend the season and catch up by postponing EURO 2020 and if necessary shortening next season - all cups one leg straight into knock out phases.
Regardless of crowds, if players get the virus then games will need to be called off.

Willowgull · Post by **Willowgull** » 12 Mar 2020, 15:41

Is there a possibility that the season could get cut short and there is no deemed promotion or relegation?

BCFC1 · Post by **BCFC1** » 12 Mar 2020, 18:29

Government advice not necessarily supporting playing games behind closed doors. Government spokesman this afternoon: “On sports events, he says a single individual on average infects two or three others.
That means there is a very low probability of infecting a large number of people in a studium.
Most infection takes places when people are with friends, not when they are in large groups.”

Post by **happytorq** » 12 Mar 2020, 19:08

clubs outside the Premier League can't afford to have multiple games called off. Not playing for a few weeks would seriously put a lot of them in trouble. That doesn't necessarily make it right that games continue to be on, but EFL and non-league sides just don't have the comfort that the Premier League clubs do.

I don't think they'd cut the season short - I think they'd start next season later and extend this one.

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 12 Mar 2020, 19:33

Interesting how UK approach seems different from many other countries but the medical people on with Johnson seems to have sound reasoning. It seems that the government are trying to delay and flatten the peak of the outbreak and that they realise the toughest measures can't be sustained for too long.

Cancelling sporting fixtures won't have a huge effect when relatively few people have the virus, so they'll take this sort of measure when it's more widespread.

I doubt the season will be finished by then, especially with games getting called off, but maybe if the Euros are postponed the season can finish by the end of the summer.

Post by **Dave** » 12 Mar 2020, 19:44

Coronavirus is effecting world football, and sadly this outbreak of Convid-19 hasn't come with a nice neat 'end date' attached to it, so various football governing bodies, can not sit down have meetings, and file there decisions under 'problem solved' we're not talking about anyone seeing the bigger picture here, we're talking about a picture so big it won't fit in the Grand Canyon.

We're hearing that medical and disease control experts are not expecting the outbreak to hits it's peak until June, it's going through the summer, so if your not already with the programme Euro 2020 may be under threat anyway.

It's not that simplistic for national FA's and UEFA to come to some agreement to postpone the EURO 2020, so suspended football seasons can be finished, there's cost and logistics in play here. Multi millions pounds worth of goods and services for the tournament booked, remember the finals are being played all over Europe, we're not just talking about 100,000's of fans traveling, we're talking about stadiums booked, not just a simple case of saying. that's ok, we'll re-book them for next year, some of these stadiums may already be booked for other events next summer.

No you can not null and void the season, and start awarding trophies promotions and relegations, how do the play-offs get played ? legal challenges and multi million pound law suits will flying all over the place, you can't null and void the season and start again fresh in August for the same reasons, and if you did who plays in the champions league, do you say, we'll start over again with the teams who qualified the season before.

Lets then look at Leicester City, almost certain to qualify yet would miss out and a place in the group stages believed to be worth at least £11 million alone, so yes of course them legal challenges and multi million pound law suits would be flying all over the place.

We have to realise that some shit has happened that's so big, it's even bigger than football, and see that Grand Canyon sized picture here. Most European domestic seasons are with in 10 games or so of completion, if it means some or all of these games, including games at our level need to be played behind closed doors so be it.

For the majority if you were unlucky enough to fall victim to coronavirus would not be a problem, but the elderly and those of any age with ongoing medical issues may not survive it, would the cost to football be worth more than those lives ?

portugull · Post by **portugull** » 12 Mar 2020, 19:56

I have just had an email from a friend in Portugal to say that the Portuguese Football Federation have today announced that the 72 teams in the Campeonato de Portugal ( Leagues 3,4,5 and 6) will have ALL matches suspended indefinitely with immediate effect.
No news on their Premier League or Liga Pro which is the League below the Premier.
Portugal is a small country with 10 million population but I fear it is a clear sign of things to come.

Modgull · Post by **Modgull** » 13 Mar 2020, 08:20

I fear many smaller clubs (and not just football clubs) will go to the wall with no attendance money coming in. Soton is right that the big boys can rest on other sources of income but clubs like United can't - really concerned.

Modgull · Post by **Modgull** » 13 Mar 2020, 10:58

All EFL matches off until 3 April - how long before the NL follows suit?

Modgull · Post by **Modgull** » 13 Mar 2020, 11:01

Brian Caldwell, Shrewsbury Town chief executive, on the financial impact of postponements or cancellations: "We’ve got five home games left, you are probably looking at £200,000-£250,000 would be lost by not having the income from not just tickets but bars, hospitality, programming income and everything else that we at this level all rely on.

“It could have a devastating effect on some clubs potentially having that loss of income.”

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