Crises are conducive to questioning. The one caused by the coronavirus pandemic is disrupting the economy as a whole. Football, an industry in its own right, is no exception. While it is stationary, the model it has been built on for years is being roughed up. The world has decided to question some of its actors on the management of the current crisis, what it reveals, how to get out of it and, perhaps, the changes to be made. Olivier Delcourt, owner and president of the Dijon Football Côte-d'Or club (DFCO), advocates, in particular, "Greater solidarity" between French clubs.
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The more the weeks go by, the more weight the possibility that Ligue 1 will not come to an end. For Dijon, this would result in a loss of 5 million euros in television rights. What put the club in trouble…
Olivier Delcourt. The deadline for April has not been paid, that's already a certainty. If the championship does not resume, it will be the same for that of June. TV rights weigh heavily in club finances. In Dijon, this represents a sum of around 20 million euros out of a budget of 38 million euros (52%). As you say, things get more complicated day by day and if there is no time to finish the season, financial solutions will have to be found.
Are French clubs not too dependent on this television windfall?
Too dependent? No, this is the economic model that is built like that today. After that, it's not just that: we also work with partnerships and player trading, which is the first or second income item depending on the clubs.
It’s not too your model elsewhere.
It is not a model that we chose. We are looking for a certain balance between experienced players and young players in the making who have a certain value in the transfer market. A club like Dijon fights all seasons to maintain itself in Ligue 1. The financier is important for the club, but also the sporting part.
Are French clubs working enough to diversify their income?
We try, we develop activities like seminars for companies. We have a good quality of reception which satisfies our partners when they bring their customers to the stadium. It remains measured and at our level. It is certain that if we shared 3 billion euros in television rights like the English clubs, instead of 1.15 billion (i.e. the amount spent by the Spanish group Mediapro to broadcast almost all of the Ligue 1 matches from next season and until 2024), we could build our own stadium, install shopping malls … We already do a lot with the means we have.
