Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal has written a letter to Indian Super League Founder Chairperson Nita Ambani, saying the club is making losses of over Rs 25 crore each season, according to a report by The Indian Express.
Seeking Ambani’s “counsel and guidance”, Jindal said that the losses being incurred by BFC have increased dramatically due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it is becoming increasing difficult for the club to sustain itself.
“Not having ticket revenue, losing out on sponsorships as well as the additional costs due to maintaining the COVID bubble have resulted in losses increasing dramatically,” Jindal wrote in his letter.
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Bengaluru FC won the ISL trophy in 2017-’18. The current season of India’s premier football league started on November 20 in a bio-secure bubble in Goa.
One of main sources of income for football leagues around the world is through television rights. But the ISL has suffered in this regard as Star Sports, its broadcaster, is also a co-owner of the league.
“Moreover, the already fragile financial health of the ISL has been worsened by the suspension of the youth subsidy (of up to Rs 2 crore) usually granted by Reliance Foundation to qualifying teams and inadequate sanctions being imposed on teams flouting player salary cap rules using one loophole or another,” added Jindal.
Read the full story by The Indian Express here.