City are reportedly losing £412,000 a week
Bristol City believe that up to seven more Championship clubs could be heading towards financial fair play breaches and be hit with point deductions, as reported by the Telegraph.
Pressure is growing on the EFL to agree new ‘force majeure’ Covid allowances and Bristol City, who last month admitted that they may be forced to take a points deduction next year, think they might not be the only club who will be affected.
The report adds that Middlesbrough and Stoke are among other sides facing scrutiny as the EFL enters the next 12 months of its three-year “profit and sustainability” cycle.
“I’d have thought there will five, six, seven in our league in a similar position as we are and there will be others that are struggling,” City chairman Jon Lansdown said.
Last month, Richard Gould, the club’s chief executive, told Telegraph Sport that the ‘Covid-inflicted collapse’ in transfer values in the Championship cost the club £30m.
On a positive note, the club have recently secured a record sponsorship deal with e-commerce firm Huboo, who will feature on the shirts of all the Bristol Sport teams (City’s men and women sides, Bristol Bears rugby and Bristol Flyers basketball).
This deal will see City part ways with MansionBet, which could prove to be a smart move considering the Government’s gambling bill white paper, which could see betting companies banned from appearing on football shirts.
With the club reportedly losing £412,000 a week, the introduction of a soft salary cap and a recovery in transfer values appear to be critical in the club’s route to financial recovery.
“I’d like to think that Bristol City is looked at as a very stable, well run football club, locally-owned, with sensible actions,” added Lansdown.
“We’ve all got slightly different models but you can see our track record that we use the transfer market so we can have a slightly higher wage than a club of our size would normally have.”
Related links:
- Lyon handed point deduction after Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle from the stands
- EFL end match-day Covid testing in hope of limiting last-minute postponements
- The 10 best away days in the Premier League and EFL
