Coronavirus pandemic has hit the world financially. Football is also a part of it. Some small clubs in Europe has experienced a huge financial crisis after the lockdown. Some big clubs also came in the same brackets.
Premier League club Arsenal has confirmed that the club has taken a short term loan of £120m to deal with the financial crisis. The club fulfilled the Bank of England’s criteria for the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).
Arsenal issued a statement that read, “We are taking a short-term £120 million loans through this facility to partially assist in managing the impacts of the revenue losses attributable to the pandemic.”
“This is a similar approach to that taken by a wide variety of major organizations across many industries including sport, and is repayable in May 2021.”
“The CCFF is designed to provide short-term finance at commercial rates during the pandemic to companies that have strong investment ratings and which make significant contributions to the British economy.”
“The CCFF is in addition to the loan provided by our owners Kroenke Sports and Entertainment that enabled us to refinance the debt on Emirates Stadium in August last year.”
The loan needs to be paid back in May 2021 with interest. It will affect in January transfer window to the Gunners. Arsenal is also trying to sell Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac to raise the fund.
Tottenham Hotspurs and Football Association also took the loan. Both took £175 million using the scheme.