Like any small business, Scottish football clubs face big cash flow problems. This is particularly true for Dundee who are fighting to survive. Although SPL matches went ahead last weekend with foreign referees, lower division matches did not. For a club like Clyde if a game goes ahead they may not be able to meet their financial obligations. And now clubs have been hit by the big freeze
Like any small business, Scottish football clubs face big cash flow problems. This is particularly true for Dundee who are fighting to survive. Although SPL matches went ahead last weekend with foreign referees, lower division matches did not. For a club like Clyde if a game goes ahead they may not be able to meet their financial obligations. And now clubs have been hit by the big freeze which shows no sign of shifting any time soon.
The SPL gave the first, second and third division clubs £10,000 each last weekend to help them out. But Scottish Football League (SFL) chief executive David Longmuir admits that it may be necessary to give them even bigger sums if the bad weather continues. But the supremo also warned that the SFL does not have a bottomless pit of money. Last season 122 matches were cancelled because of bad weather and it could be even more in this campaign if long-range forecasts of a cold winter are correct.
Premier League clubs in England have undersoil heating, hot air covers and other devices so their matches should be able to go ahead unless there is a very heavy snowfall. However, sometimes the pitch can be clear, but the match can be called off because the approaches to the ground are judged to be unsafe for supporters.
Obviously the weather has rekindled the debate about a winter break. However, the problem is that no one knows exactly when freezing weather will hit. It’s quite unusual for it to be this severe in November. No doubt Premier League footballers would like to sun themselves in January in exotic locations while fans toil away in the gloom of a British winter.
For Scotland, however, there may be a case for playing football in the summer, or at least having a winter break and ending the season later. It would, however, mean that contracts would have to be extended which of itself could pose a challenge to smaller cash strapped clubs.