FORMER Kelantan and JDT coach Bojan Hodak painted a grim future of football clubs if the Covid-19 pandemic drags on.
The Croatian, who was also Malaysia’s national Under-19 coach, predicted that small clubs, who make up 95 per cent of world football, will face even bankruptcy, if leagues are abandoned for more than three months.
Hodak, who is now coaching Indonesia Liga I side PSM Makassar, believes that even if football resumes after the pandemic is overcome, it will take between six and 12 months for the industry to get back on track.
Many clubs worldwide are already struggling. Seven-time Slovakian champions Zilina have opted for bankruptcy after asking players to take an 80 per cent pay cut. They are the first European club to go into liquidation since the coronavirus outbreak.
In Australia’s A-League, ex-Asian club champions Western Sydney Wanderers have joined Newcastle Jets, Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory by opting to lay off their players and staff in the face of the Covid-19.
In the English Premier League, clubs want players to accept a wage deferral plan while most teams in La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue have slashed salaries.
Hodak, who guided Kelantan to a treble (Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup) in 2012, admitted that slashing salaries is not good for business, but in football, it is a matter of survival, especially for the small clubs.
“All clubs will suffer consequences if there is no football for more than three months as they will lose out on gate collections, sponsorships and broadcasting rights,” Hodak said yesterday.
“Football will not be the same again even after Covid-19 is eradicated. Clubs will need between six and 12 months to get back on track financially.”
“The bigger clubs have assets and can take loans to survive, but I am not sure how the smaller clubs will be able to sustain. Banks might not give loans to smaller clubs.”
Asked whether Asian football will be able to survive in these trying times, Hodak said: “The top Asian leagues such as the K-League, J-League and Chinese Super League have money and their clubs receive some assistance from the organisers.
“I am, however, concerned about the leagues in Southeast Asia (including Malaysia’s M-League). Some clubs depend solely or partly on funds from their respective governments or agencies.
“I believe these funds, initially reserved for the clubs, are now being used to fight Covid-19.
“It will be a bigger problem if these clubs do not have many sponsors. And it is worse for clubs already with debts. Their players will suffer.”
On how long can a club (RM10 million annual budget with 50 per cent salaries reduction) last without playing football, Hodak said: “It depends who are their sponsors (government or private) and whether they have received their funding in full already.
“If the money from the sponsors is paid monthly or quarterly, then we may see trouble,” said Hodak, who also guided JDT to the Super League crown in 2014.
Based on Hodak’s views, we can expect most clubs in the M-League to struggle for survival as they rely much on state governments for funding.
Furthermore, the clubs, except for a few, earn hardly anything from gate collections and they have few sponsors.
The M-League, itself, is struggling to pull in sponsors. The Malaysia Football League have also not been able to achieve their goals of turning the league into a commercial success.
“Yes, there will be clubs, not only from this region but around the world, who will probably collapse.
“In my opinion, Fifa and their affiliates (national FAs) have been slow in finding solutions as they have never experienced this before.
“It is the first time, probably since the Spanish Flu and World Wars, that football has stopped worldwide.”
Hodak, who is now in Kuala Lumpur following the suspension of the Indonesian league, said: “I returned to KL a day before the Malaysian government enforced the Movement Control Order.
“There is a problem in the Indonesian league now. The Indonesia FA (PSSI) announced that all teams are permitted to pay a maximum of only 25 per cent of the players’ salaries for the next two months.
“The strange thing is that it was not discussed with the associations representing players and coaches.
“PSSI have suspended the Indonesian league, and if the situation gets better, it will likely resume on July 1 but some competitions might be off.”
The 49-year-old Hodak predicted that eventually all players and football staff worldwide will have to take a pay cut.
“I think most clubs in the world will slash at least 50 per cent of salaries.
“In the Croatian top division, most clubs have reduced salaries but will pay the remainder after the league resumes. It is the same in Brazil,” he added.
In the M-League, JDT and UKM FC players and staff have agreed to take a pay cut but the situation is not clear with the other clubs.