In these difficult times, any outstretched hand is good to take.
It is therefore with a good eye that FC Chambly welcomed the announcements made by Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday evening.
The President of the Republic decided to grant the world of sport, hard hit by the health crisis, financial assistance of nearly € 400 million, a measure subsequently specified by Roxana Maracineanu, the Minister of Sports.
Professional clubs will in particular benefit from an exemption from charges for the months of October, November and December which will apply, for the Ligue 2 resident, to the 52 employees.
"This is very good news, because the charges are important in a budget, appreciates the president, Fulvio Luzi.
It is even planned that this initiative will be extended until the end of the season.
It would be a good breath of fresh air in view of the shortfall in the ticket office, the refreshment bar or the shop.
"According to the document received, we only speak of employer charges, tempers Thierry Bertrand, the administrative director of the Picardy club.
This is already a good thing, even if we would have preferred an exemption from all social charges.
"
A crisis budget demanded by the DNCG
The executive also promised the creation of a compensation fund for ticket office losses, to the tune of € 107 million.
The envelope is capped at € 5 million per beneficiary.
A help that the Camblysian leaders do not expect to touch, or in a very residual way.
“This will mainly go to sports where there are no TV rights,” says Fulvio Luzi.
“There are sports much more impacted than us in this area, such as basketball or rugby, confirms Thierry Bertrand.
And for football, it mainly concerns Ligue 1, where the losses are the most important.
If we touch, it will be plum tails… ”
Finally, President Macron confirmed that there will be no return of the public to the stadiums before 2021. In the latest version of his estimated budget, recently sent to the National Management Control Department (DNCG), the FC Chambly had in any case considered a closed session until January, then a gauge of 1000 spectators.
"For us, this is the worst scenario financially, since it generates security costs but very little ticketing revenue," blows, again, Thierry Bertrand.
"We preferred to start on a low assumption," adds Fulvio Luzi.
Anyway, with the fear of the virus, there will not be many people at the stadium… ”
This new budget has been evaluated at 7.3 M €.
But the DNCG also asked the professional clubs for a forecast based on a crisis scenario, over three years.
In this context, it was necessary to anticipate a closed session until the end of the season, as well as significant losses in terms of sponsorship.
“In this catastrophic scenario, we have planned a relegation and then two seasons in the National, says Thierry Bertrand.
Anyway, the two exercises presented are not in balance.
We will have to draw on our own funds… ”