ACTUALITE |
28.04.2003
Where do football clubs get their money?
By Fred Vubem in Yaounde
To run a football club demands that one recruits players and pay them, as well as afford for logistics like balls, jerseys and a vehicle to transport players to the training ground or for football matches. This requires a lot of money, the reason why one has to ask where they get the money from to finance these activities.
Football clubs in Africa and Cameroon in particular, have limited means of acquiring money as compared to European clubs. The sources of income are usually through a percentage of the gate-takings for each match, adverts, contributions from supporters, sale of players as well as occasional subventions from FECAFOOT and the government for clubs engaged in continental competition.
As concerns gate taking, only about 50 per cent is shared among the competing clubs and the rest fifty deducted to cover the cost of printing tickets and paying ticket sellers as well as the upkeep of the stadium.
When we come to think of the fact that few Cameroonians go to the stadium to watch matches and among those who go, few pay the entry ticket as most people prefer to tip the ticket seller or police to go their way into the stadium, such gate-takings are usually small.
Adverts which happen to be the main source of income for European clubs, are also few, virtually inexistent in Cameroon.
The possibilities for advert, in Europe are many ranging from billboards placed round the stadia, to bearing the trademarks of companies on jerseys, passing through television transmission rights. Television transmission is inexistent and therefore no rights accrue from them. Few companies place billboards in the stadia and only the MTN Cameroon so far advertises on players’ jerseys.
Contributions from supporters elsewhere include the buying of club gadgets and direct financial contribution to the club. In Cameroon, this is limited only to financial contributions to the club and which depend on the performance of the club. When the club is doing well, it receives enormous support but when the performance drops, support for the club also dwindles.
The most lucrative source of income for Cameroonian clubs is the sale of players to rich European clubs. However this has a detrimental effect on the development of football in Cameroon. Talented players are sold abroad whereas the mediocre ones are left to animate the national league. As such, the Cameroonian league becomes the nursery ground for European clubs.
The Cameroon football federation - FECAFOOT at times offers money to clubs but it is at the discretion of the president and doesn’t depend on any given policy. The government, for its part, offers financial support only to clubs involved in continental competitions.
Given the above hurdles, football clubs in Cameroon are destitute and therefore cannot employ players on a full-time basis or pay them handsome salaries to lead a decent life.
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