Scottish football finance experts Begbies Traynor have warned clubs face going to the wall due to the coronavirus crisis – just weeks after being on the verge of being given a clean bill of health.
The insolvency specialists have compiled their eighth annual Football Distress Report and up until the pandemic hit, SPFL sides were about to be handed pass marks for the second year in a row.
None of the 42 clubs were showing signs of trouble – but now accountants are predicting several are fighting for survival.
Ken Patullo from Begbies Traynor said: “There are real concerns that cash-strapped clubs may be pushed to the brink of insolvency.
“Finances are already stretched and every match that isn’t played means income from matchday ticket sales and hospitality is lost. With several matches that were still left to play across all Scottish leagues, that represents hundreds of thousands of pounds of lost income, which clubs operating on small budgets can ill afford to lose.”
Pattullo reckons First Minister Nicola Sturgeon could lend our clubs a hand during these times of trouble.
He said: “Some clarity from the Scottish Government would be helpful now because, while in England the Premier League is in discussions about Project Restart, to resume playing televised matches behind closed doors, Scotland’s top-tier clubs seem to be nowhere near having a road map towards the resumption of any form of play, and meanwhile they remain in financially-corrosive limbo.”
Scottish football survives on fans coming through the gates – and the punters are shut out the more damaging the outbreak will become.
Pattullo said: “Our Scottish Premiership clubs are the most reliant on ticket sales of all the top-flight European clubs, which also makes them extremely vulnerable to escalating financial problems, especially if it is decreed that the remainder of the season is to be played, behind closed doors.
“It also means they lack the financial clout of the English Premier League, and the cost to clubs of completing the outstanding games, when they have little or no income, could be devastating.
“It’s the mid-size clubs without wealthy backers or lucrative television or sponsorship deals that are in the most perilous position.
“Unfortunately, the double whammy of significant wage bills and sizeable fan bases that make them heavily reliant on match-day gate receipts could prove fatal in this unprecedented situation.
“While I don’t believe we are looking at a doomsday scenario and most Scottish clubs will survive, I’m afraid that some insolvencies are probably inevitable among the hardest hit clubs.
