Federal Councilor Viola Amherd. Image: keystone
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Eismeister Zaugg
115 million – today it should not only rain for football and hockey money
If Sports Minister Viola Amherd succeeds in rocking the Federal Council meeting today, then there will be 115 million francs in emergency aid for our sport – à fonds perdu. So for free. Without repayment obligation.
175 million are already available as loans for professional football and hockey clubs for 2020. The money will be available from December 1st. A further 175 million francs are planned in the 2021 budget. In the event that gaming operations should also only be possible to a limited extent for the entire next year.
But the wish to convert these loans into subsidies has not yet been answered. Although it is clear that the hockey and soccer industry, which is in the red even in golden times, is unable to repay the loans even with biblical, hundred-year deadlines. But we don’t want to brood. The problem will keep future generations of politicians on their toes.
More important is the extensive emergency aid that Viola Amherd intends to bring through today at the Federal Council meeting and then announce to the people in the afternoon at a media conference. A whopping 115 million for 44 professional clubs and 89 semi-professional clubs. To put it simply: This rain of money comes down over the two highest leagues in football and in hockey plus over the highest leagues in basketball, volleyball, handball and floorball. The political fore-checking of the hockey and football generals, especially hockey league boss Denis Vaucher, is having an effect.
The persuasion of National League Director Denis Vaucher (right) is having an effect. Image: keystone
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How is this money distributed?
There is a rather complicated key that is beyond the scope of this reporting and would tend to bore readers. Basically, the following applies: The 115 million are intended to replace the viewer income that has been missing for an indefinite period since October.
That is why the shares are calculated on the basis of the number of viewers in recent years and taking into account ticket prices. So the clerks of the various sports companies will spend a lot of time in the next few days digging out numbers from the recent bookkeeping and filling out a few forms before the tax money snows in.
With the money come conditions
But tax money does not just come from the federal government. Viola Amherd, politically smart as she is, attaches a few conditions to the payment of this money. The most sensible and most interesting obligation: The clubs, take of this money (and no longer have to pay back) are condemned to spend the same amount of money on their junior and women’s departments over the next five years (!) As in the 2018/19 season.
The generous state aid should make it possible that the socially relevant structures of sport – primarily the youth departments – can be brought through the crisis undamaged. So in the next five years we must not save on training or women’s sports. The pleasant side effects of this clever measure: The impending rain of money, for example at SC Bern, cannot simply be squandered for further incorrect transfers. The greenhouses of the offspring have to be watered with the money rain.
And what about FC Vaduz?
On the fringes of this formidable Federal Council sports funding, there are also spicy details to be regulated: For example, the question must be clarified whether it is permissible to support a professional club in the Principality of Liechtenstein with federal tax money. FC Vaduz plays in our top football league.
Actually, our tax chunks shouldn’t be paid out for sports in one of the richest principalities in the world. Perhaps Viola Amherd will be able to persuade his Highness Hereditary Prince Alois Philipp Maria von und zu Liechtenstein to get FC Vaduz out of its well-filled box in the same way as the federal government did for the Swiss football clubs.
