Counting the costs of COVID-19 on professional football clubs and their communities

Many professional football clubs, particularly in the lower leagues of English football, are facing financial ruin and on the brink of collapse. This situation is likely to be exacerbated in the coming months owing to the current COVID-19 global pandemic. We have previously argued that football needs to revisit its governance structure to alleviate pressure on lower league clubs by reducing the financial gap between leagues (see Wilson, Ramchandani & Plumley, 2018). Consequently, this project aims to analyse the financial impact of COVID-19 on professional football clubs in England and the wider impact on their communities. In the last year, one community has already lost its professional football club (Bury FC) and other communities have been affected by the demise of semi-professional clubs (e.g. Rhyl FC). The project has three main research questions. First, what is the financial impact of COVID-19 on the professional football clubs? Second, what is the wider economic impact to the local community that a club is placed in given the distinct possibility of matches being played behind closed doors for a considerable amount of time? Thirdly, what are the wider effects on the community in football community trusts and social cohesion? The main aim of this study is to work with professional football clubs and their immediate communities (specifically in League 1 and League 2 of English football) in order to analyse the current financial situation and examine the wider economic impact to the local community.