At the beginning of the week, the Professional Football League (LFP) had obtained a meeting by videoconference this Friday evening with the ministers Bruno Le Maire (Economy) and Jean-Michel Blanquer (Education and Sport) in order to explain their difficulties to them. financial.
Although a broadcasting agreement with Canal + has been found, professional clubs in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 must indeed face a loss of resources estimated at 1 billion euros for the current season - TV rights, ticketing , hospitality, sponsorship and transfers.
The @LFPfr asks for "an emergency support plan".
Press release 📝➡️ https://t.co/d4FJnuHvED pic.twitter.com/tuS9E2LT8T
- Professional Football League (@LFPfr) February 9, 2021
From a source close to the Ministry of Sports, said meeting was postponed to Tuesday at 11 am, due to scheduling problems.
Bruno Le Maire and Jean-Michel Blanquer will participate, as will Roxana Maracineanu, Minister for Sports, Vincent Labrune, President of the LFP, as well as probably representatives of professional clubs.
Already 75 million euros in aid for 2020
In a statement written after leaving the LFP board on Monday, professional football leaders demanded to be received "in order to build an emergency support plan".
"There is no question here of asking the State to compensate for the drop in TV rights, or the failure of Mediapro, specified the club presidents in their press release, adding however that" the measures already taken by the government for the current season - (
Editor's note: around 100 million euros, excluding loan guaranteed by the State (PGE) for professional football
) - unfortunately prove insufficient or unsuitable to continue the activity of the sector.
"
For its part, the Ministry of Sports has granted 75 million euros for 2020 as compensation for ticket office losses (currently being disbursed by the ministry), exemptions from social contributions, and the increase to 1.8 million euros of the ceiling for exemptions from charges per company so far set at 800,000 euros
For 2021, French clubs, faced with cash flow problems and some of which have initiated or recorded wage cuts, hope to be able to be helped more.
