Clubs must repay 2.1 million francs less Corona aid money than originally calculated: the federal government protects professional football clubs

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“It then endangers the survival of FC Thun,” club chairman Andres Gerber (50) warned in February last year. At the time, it was announced that several football clubs would have to repay Corona support funds from 2021. Simply put, they received money from two different aid programs – for the same losses.

A press release spoke of “an estimated four million francs” that Sports Minister Viola Amherd (61) demanded back. Now it is clear: there are significantly fewer. The Swiss football league clubs would only have to pay back 1.9 million francs. “The clubs have been able to prove the corona-related damage for 2021,” explains Wladimir Steimer, media spokesperson for the Federal Office for Sports. For example, loss of income in the junior departments could be taken into account if, for example, there were no training allowance and less ticket income.

lost income

“It is known that the transfer market collapsed during the pandemic and that clubs have lost income from transfers and youth development during this period,” says Steimer. The transfers could not simply be caught up after the pandemic: “Two years is a long time in the football world. The players are at a different point in their careers and may have less value.”

However, this is not relevant to the question of the damage caused. Because even if the transfer takes place a year later and the training compensation has been paid, it makes no difference to the Covid aid: “Only the damage that occurred during the pandemic was compensated, regardless of whether it was repaired later,” says Steimer .

He gives a simplified example: “If a club that could not organize its Grümpeli tournament during the pandemic and was compensated for the damage, might have had twice as much income from the Grümpeli after the pandemic, it doesn’t matter.” Baspo does not reveal which clubs are involved.

The federal government has already renounced it once

CH Media mentioned FC Luzern and FC Basel, among others, were also affected last year. There is little concern there. No one gives exact figures, but it is said that they were able to prepare and make appropriate arrangements. FC Thun does not want to comment at the moment because the file manager is on holiday.

The problem is not new: in 2020, approximately six million francs were withdrawn twice. At that point, Amherd was lenient and gave up the money. But now the federal government saw no room for maneuver anymore. The clubs should have been made aware.

“Relatively small amount”

However, the last word has not yet been spoken. Swiss Olympic – which provided Baspo with the exact calculations for the football clubs – has taken note of the refund. The claim will be analyzed and the open questions will be clarified by the end of February. “The situation is complex, but we are confident that all involved will work together to find a good solution in the interest of the sport.” Compared to the total amount of around 500 million francs that the federal government made available to Swiss sport during the pandemic years, this is a “relatively small amount”.

It is not just the professional clubs that have to pay: the federal government is demanding a total of almost three million francs from other sports organizations and clubs, such as climbing or tennis halls, because the subsidies were not used properly.

Source:Blick