The coronavirus crisis could “potentially threaten” the existence of the German Football Association (DFB), its treasurer Stephan Osnabruegge warned Monday.
“The DFB is in the
deepest economic crisis of the recent past,” said Osnabruegge at the German FA’s
virtual extraordinary meeting.
He said “far-reaching
cuts” must be made to avoid a worst-case scenario, which would see the DFB
receiving 96.5 million euros ($105.1 million) less than planned this year,
resulting in a forecasted loss of 77 million euros.
All but 13.8
million euros of that figure would be covered by the governing body’s financial
reserves.
However, the DFB
would then be expected to avoid bankruptcy due to the equity capital it has
available.
The German FA is
eager to avoid laying off jobs, but some staff have been put on reduced hours
since May 1.
Planned wage
increases have been suspended and the German FA’s management has agreed to
reduced salaries of between 10 and 30 percent.
According to 2019 figures,
the German FA has 7.1 million members, with 149,735 registered teams playing in
24,544 clubs.
It is the biggest
sports body in Germany.
While professional
football was allowed to resume in the Bundesliga 10 days ago, the lower leagues
were halted in early March due to the virus outbreak.