Kieran Maguire: Sunderland in ‘precarious’ position as £9m hangs in balance
Sunderland are in a “precarious” position as rising Covid-19 cases threaten to disrupt the Football League season.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest developments in the pandemic-hit EFL.
Sunderland’s 1-1 draw away to Ipswich Town, watched by 29,000 fans, was not one of the six League One matches called off yesterday (18 December).
But BBC Sport reported on Friday (17 December) that a quarter of EFL players do not intend to get the vaccine despite the Government’s jab drive.
The situation has led to fears that the league could be paused or that matches could return to behind-closed-doors settings.
Sunderland earned £8.7million on matchdays in the last non-Covid season, and Maguire explains how vital ticketing revenue is to the Black Cats.
“If you look at the Premier League, around 60 per cent of its total revenue comes from broadcasting,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“As we drop into the EFL, the value of the broadcast deal is hugely less, even if you factor in solidarity payments from the Premier League.
“Therefore, clubs like Sunderland become more dependent on money from matchday sales.
“In the Premier League overall, around £1 in every £7 comes from ticket sales.
“If you look at where Sunderland are in League One, many clubs are getting 40 or 50 per cent from matchday. That makes the situation more precarious.”
EFL chairman Rick Parry has ruled out the idea of a ‘circuit breaker’ across the pyramid but not a return to behind-closed-doors action.
Sunderland currently occupy 3rd place in the third tier.
In other news, Sunderland, Preston North End and Wigan Athletic set sights on signing Georgie Kelly.