Football matches would be played behind closed doors all next season under plans being considered by the sport's authorities.
Senior figures believe that games in the top four divisions, including the Premier League, will be held without crowds until Christmas as Britain tries to control the coronavirus pandemic.
They think this could continue until May next year if government permission for mass gatherings is tied to production of a widely available vaccine. Other sports, music festivals and concerts would also be banned if Boris Johnson takes such a hardline stance.
Holding matches behind closed doors for the whole season would mean a big drop in income for clubs, and the Football Association is looking at how to minimise damage to clubs at all levels.
Manchester United earn �111 million a season from ticket sales and matchday revenue, 17 per cent of their total income. Across all four divisions the total income lost would exceed �1 billion.
Clubs in the lower divisions are more vulnerable as they rely on income from ticket sales far more than those in the Premier League, where most of the revenue comes from television rights. In League One and League Two, matchday income makes up an average of 40 per cent of clubs' income. There is concern that wages will fall and some players might have to go part-time.
Jonas Baer-Hoffman, secretarygeneral of the international footballers' union Fifpro, said: "In terms of fans being back inside stadiums that might likely not be possible until people are vaccinated. So it may well be that we play a full season without spectators."
Sports organisations are aware that attention has been focused on whether mass gatherings in March contributed to the spread of the virus. These included the Cheltenham races and the derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City on March 8 and Liverpool's Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on March 12. Premier League restart, page 62
News UK & Ireland Limited
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Senior figures believe that games in the top four divisions, including the Premier League, will be held without crowds until Christmas as Britain tries to control the coronavirus pandemic.
They think this could continue until May next year if government permission for mass gatherings is tied to production of a widely available vaccine. Other sports, music festivals and concerts would also be banned if Boris Johnson takes such a hardline stance.
Holding matches behind closed doors for the whole season would mean a big drop in income for clubs, and the Football Association is looking at how to minimise damage to clubs at all levels.
Manchester United earn �111 million a season from ticket sales and matchday revenue, 17 per cent of their total income. Across all four divisions the total income lost would exceed �1 billion.
Clubs in the lower divisions are more vulnerable as they rely on income from ticket sales far more than those in the Premier League, where most of the revenue comes from television rights. In League One and League Two, matchday income makes up an average of 40 per cent of clubs' income. There is concern that wages will fall and some players might have to go part-time.
Jonas Baer-Hoffman, secretarygeneral of the international footballers' union Fifpro, said: "In terms of fans being back inside stadiums that might likely not be possible until people are vaccinated. So it may well be that we play a full season without spectators."
Sports organisations are aware that attention has been focused on whether mass gatherings in March contributed to the spread of the virus. These included the Cheltenham races and the derby match between Manchester United and Manchester City on March 8 and Liverpool's Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on March 12. Premier League restart, page 62
News UK & Ireland Limited
Document�T000000020200501eg51000cs