Juventus President Andrea Agnelli believes European clubs face an “existential threat” following the postponement of football.
Club football has come to a halt due to the Coronavirus pandemic, resulting in EURO 2020 being postponed by a year while there’s no official word on when domestic competitions will return or if the current seasons will ever be completed.
In a letter seen by news agency Reuters, ECA President Agnelli confirmed that talks are underway to relax the Financial Fair Play rules due to the current situation.
“We are all football executives responsible for the well-being and sustainability of the clubs we manage, which are faced with a real existential threat,” wrote Agnelli.
“As football is now at a standstill, so are our revenue flows on which we are dependent to pay our players, staff and other operating costs.
“No one is immune and timing is of the essence. Meeting our concerns will be the biggest challenge our game and industry has ever faced.”
Agnelli added that the ECA was defining strategies to “resume playing football at domestic and European levels” as well as ways “to help manage club financials in this time of social and economic crisis.”
He said that European soccer body UEFA was weighing up health, financial and economic challenges in “defining a possible new model for the calendar.”
“Discussions are very active as to what the approach to the UEFA licensing and FFP framework should be in light of the current crisis,” he added.
