There was a post that was widely shared across social media
a couple pf years ago, which said ‘Don’t let you kids grow up thinking football
in a TV show’ the picture that came with it was a young lad watching a non
league football match. I liked it and shared it. I was taken to my first match
by my Dad when I was six, I took my son when he was only a baby, for three
generations we have grown up watching our local teams play football. Televised
games higher up the ladder were just an added side show, not the main event.
Three months after most football came to a halt in the UK
due to COVID 19, the Premier League & Championship have returned in
England, following the example of Germany, played out in empty stadiums, but
broadcast live on TV or via the internet.
Football has now become just a TV show.
There seems little hope for a return of football below the
top two levels in England in the near future, clubs at that level are still
mostly reliant on match day income rather than the revenue from TV rights and
no fans through the turnstiles means no money. On top of that there is the cost
of COVID 19 testing all the players and staff, estimated at around £140 per
person, this is way beyond most clubs if required one or twice a week for a
squad of 20plus. Even if this hurdle is overcome you are then faced with the
problems around hospitality, bars and food outlets. All of which bring in vital
income, plus the restrictions on attendances and how to administer tickets and
imposing the distancing regulations.
The current situation is a TV broadcaster’s wet dream, a
captive audience, only able to access their football fix via TV, with simulated
crowd noise and plastic pre match hype. The ban on screening games at 3pm on a
Saturday has now been lifted and even when/if clubs lower down the pyramid
return this will have a negative impact on their gates. The casual fan will be
far less likely to leave their own home or pub to go to see the local team play
of ‘their’ team is playing live on TV at the same time. This has already been
shown by the reduced crowd numbers for midweek games when the Champions League
matches are broadcast.
By the time we are back to any kind of pre-COVID 19
normality in lower league football there is a very real prospect of a large
numbers of clubs not making it through, or if they do make it hitting the
financial wall further down the line. The assistance and advice from the
footballing authorities at the top of the game to keep the grass roots strong?
Zilch. They are not just pulling up the ladder, they are setting fire to
it.
The football authorities have their cash cow back in the
Premier League, the Champions League is scheduled to return and so is
international football, all in empty stadia, but all live on TV. With the fans
all meeting up on Zoom in their brand new replica shirts and making
enthusiastic gestures when prompted to. With numerous food outlets now offering
delivery and home now being the new office for many, there is no need to ever
go out again. It’s dangerous out there, as someone smarter than me predicted
back in 1990: Shut up, stay home, be happy, everything is done for you….
Col.
No comments:
Post a Comment