COVID continues to impact the sports world — most recently a Premier League club.
Brighton and Hove Albion released its 2020-21 finances on Monday, announcing it had suffered $70 million in losses.
The number is staggering, though still lower than their 2019-20 reported losses of about $88 million.
“While we are once again reporting a loss, which is never ideal, we have seen an increase in turnover and reduction in the losses, despite the pandemic impacting the entire season,” deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber said.
Barber attributed half of total losses “directly” to the pandemic:
- Matchday, event, and commercial turnover was “all but wiped out for the entire season.”
- There were extra costs associated with providing COVID safeguards.
The announcement noted that the financials don’t include Ben White’s transfer to Arsenal.
Major Trend
The news is unsurprising given the gargantuan losses suffered by the European soccer market during the pandemic.
In 2019-20, for example, the market dropped by a total of $29.7 billion, according to Deloitte. There was, however, a $7.1 billion parachute fund organized by UEFA that mitigated some of the losses — though clearly not all.
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