March 10 – Germany’s Bundesliga has released its financial report for the covid-impacted 2019/20 season showing a combined total revenue of €4.5 billion for its two leagues, a 5.7% drop on the previous season.
The bulk of the near €217 million reduction comes from match day revenue that was truncated at game 26 of the season when matches were halted, before restarting without fans in stadia.
Total ticket sales for the season were €363.5 million for Bundesliga clubs, compared to €520 million in 2018/19, which, looking forward at the 2020/21 season played without fans in stadia, shows the painful impact covid will have on the next economic report.
“Overall, the 18 Bundesliga clubs generated a total revenue of €3.8 billion during the 2019-20 season, representing a drop of around 5.4%. Bundesliga 2 clubs produced a total revenue of €726 million, roughly 7.2% less than the previous year. Overall, combining these figures from both divisions yields a fall in revenue of 5.7%,” says the Bundesliga report.
Even with revenue down, the Bundesliga’s 36 clubs still paid €1.4 billion in taxes and the league and its clubs employ 52,786 people either directly or indirectly.
The Bundesliga points out that even with the reduction of total revenue, “the 2019-20 season is still the third highest figure of all time, while only once before has Bundesliga 2 generated more revenue than it did in 2019-20.”
But with no fans in stadia and the international transfer market showing signs of major contraction, the growth bubble does look to have burst.
“No one was prepared for the extent to which the coronavirus crisis would affect all areas of life, and football is no exception. The economic figures for the 2019-20 season reflect the resulting loss of revenue – particularly from ticket sales for matches held behind closed doors – and the challenge of rapidly cutting costs that are often contractually agreed,” said Christian Seifert, Speaker of the DFL Executive Committee.
“And this is just the beginning. As this economic report goes to press, we already know that the pandemic will continue to have a significant impact on society as a whole in 2021. In terms of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, the economic consequences include the ongoing absence of ticket sales as matches are still being played without fans in the stadium, as well as lower transfer expenses.”
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