To make up for the shortfall caused by the non-payment in October of television rights by the Sino-Spanish broadcaster Mediapro, the French Professional Football League (LFP) will borrow 112 million euros.
Meeting in general assembly, Monday, October 19, the clubs of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, as well as the “families” of football (coaches, players, doctors, etc.) validated this loan ” unanimously “ people present.
The principle of this loan was acted on Thursday, October 15 by the Board of Directors of the LFP to find a short-term solution to the unpaid deadline to the clubs, for which television rights are the main source of income (36 % on average in Ligue 1 L1 in 2018-19 according to the National Management Control Department, financial policeman of French football).
Holder of most of the rights to Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 over the period 2020-2024 for more than 800 million euros per year, Mediapro is behind on the payment of due dates in October, estimated by the daily The team to 172 million euros.
The group wants to renegotiate the amount of rights it pays. The League refused and, according to the daily The team, appealed to the Paris Commercial Court to charge Joye Media, the Spanish holding company that owns Mediapro.
The LFP was already indebted in the spring with a loan guaranteed by the State of 224.5 million euros to compensate for the premature end of the Championship due to a pandemic and to supply the cash flow of the clubs.
In a letter to clubs signed by Executive Director General Arnaud Rouger last week, the League had indicated that it had “Obtained a competitive financing offer”. She said then planned to make a first payment to the clubs last Friday, then another “As soon as the borrowed funds are collected, probably at the very end of October”.
