Getting into a cycle of home confinement and significant restrictions on individual freedom would probably have been unimaginable until March 2020, but after the decision had been taken to impose quarantines, self-isolation and social distancing rules, hundreds of millions of people across the world were affected, and football was not an exception.

1. COVID CRISIS 2020 IN FOOTBALL
Issue 2
Football Department Crisis Management
Club Services
7 April 2020

2. Introduction
Football clubs were some of the first organisations to feel the disruption due to the
escalation of the Coronavirus pandemic in Europe. From late February, as Italy started
seeing matches being cancelled, a chain of events began that has resulted in the
biggest disruption to European football in living memory.
As fixtures were reluctantly put on hold and postponed across the continent in March,
for a brief time playing squads across Europe were not able to play but were still taking
part in training. However, by the time the weekend of 14-15 March passed, in most
countries some form of restriction on training was also put in place, ranging from a
complete ban to unrestricted training, via non-contact and smaller group stipulations.
With the situation escalating daily, training centres were closed and players, just like
other citizens, were increasingly being confined to their homes, as national governments
imposed increasingly stricter social distancing measures and quarantines. COVID-19
cases also started appearing in clubs, as players and staff in clubs from across the
continent were testing positive for the virus, increasing the pressure on teams, as they
had to deal with the fall-out from the disruption, put their squads in quarantine and also
take care of their players who had fallen ill.
As of early April 2020, there is still no clarity on how long this situation will last: even
though there seems to be some cautious optimism appearing in places, and some clubs
in some countries have cautiously resumed small-group presential training, events are
guided by national governments and specialist medical advice. However, the industry is
suffering significant economic losses, and is looking for ways to restart action. Doing
that will require a great deal of planning, and a new Return to Play strategy will be
essential in delivering a safe, secure and viable process for players, coaches, club staff
and others involved in the match day.
First
Responses
Mitigation
RTP

3. Index
1 First Response
• COVID-19 Timeline in Europe
• COVID-19 European Football Map after
17 March 2020
2 Mitigation
• Training Strategies under COVID-19
• Player Impact
• Communication
• Functional
• Psychological
• Economic
3 Return to Play (RTP)
• Stakeholders of the Process
• Key Considerations
• Potential Process Timeline
04
06
12......................................
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4. First Response
4
31 December 2019 – China
reports to World Health
Organisation several cases of
unusual pneumonia in Wuhan
city
24 January 2020 – COVID-19
case confirmed in Bordeaux,
France, the first case in Europe
30 January 2020 – first cases
confirmed in Italy
31 January 2020 – first cases
confirmed in Russia, Spain,
Sweden and UK
23 February 2020 – first Serie A
games postponed in Italy,
including Inter v Sampdoria
25 February 2020 – five matches
in Serie A ordered to be played
behind closed doors
28 February 2020 – all matches
in Swiss two top divisions
postponed
29 February 2020 – five matches
that were due behind closed
doors in Italy now postponed
2 March 2020 – Swiss league
suspended until 23 March
3 March 2020 – Scottish League
bans pre-match handshakes
4 March 2020 – Italian
government directs all sport
events to be held behind closed
doors
8 March 2020 - Football in
Bulgaria and all sport in Greece
to be staged behind closed doors
10 March 2020 – FIGC states
Serie A may not finish. Games in
France, Spain and Poland to be
played behind closed doors,
Olympiacos’ owner Evangelos
Marinakis tests positive for
COVID-19
11 March 2020 – Man City v
Arsenal, Sevilla v Roma and
Inter v Getafe are postponed
12 March 2020 – La Liga
suspended for two rounds.
Danish FA cancels all football
activities. Mikel Arteta at Arsenal
and Daniele Rugani of Juventus
test positive for COVID-19
13 March – English, Scottish,
Welsh, French and UEFA club
matches suspended
Weekend of 14-15 March: only
Russia, Turkey, Hungary,
Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia and
Kazakhstan have football
matches in Europe
Week from 16 March – all
football activities are shutting
down almost everywhere,
players are self-isolating and
clubs are in full crisis
management mode
COVID-19 Timeline in Europe

5. 5
COVID-19 European Football Map* after
17 March 2020
*based on Club Affairs Study: “Some thoughts on Covid-19”

6. Mitigation
Training Strategies under COVID-19
Italian clubs were the first to feel the effect of COVID-19 on their activities. As early as 1
March 2020, Juventus was quarantining their entire U-23 squad after they took part in a
match against US Pianese on 23 February, and players from that team tested positive for the
virus. In the following weeks, a number of players and backroom staff at various clubs,
including the league organisation Serie A, tested positive for COVID-19, however as late as
the middle of March there were some clubs that were trying to get their players to train in
small groups, or call them in for temperature controls, as confirmed in a statement by the
Italian Players’ Association on 13 March.
During a relatively short period of time when the pandemic was slowly building up, clubs
were able to set their own measures, which may have included smaller training groups,
staggered sessions and a high degree of individualised training focused on fitness and
conditioning. In some countries group sporting practice was banned altogether, but in others,
limits were set in such a way that even youth teams were still able to train in a staggered
timetable. At this stage, clubs were also deciding on whether to allow their foreign players to
travel back to their countries of origin, or to make them stay. There was no standard
response, but some considerations would have included the usual place of residence of their
families, the insistence of players and other factors such as the desire to keep closer control
of player movements, or the thought that if they leave and travel is further restricted, they
may be unable to return to the club even if football activities are resumed.
6
The relative freedom ended as more and
more countries imposed significant
restrictions on people, limiting movement
outside of their own home setting, which
fundamentally left only the option of
individual training regimes. In some
countries it is still permitted to go outside
for the purposes of doing fitness work,
whilst in others, people must remain at
home unless they are in critical jobs,
going out for food shopping or for medical
reasons. In many countries that permit
outdoors fitness activities, there is a limit
on the number of people that can train in
one group (typically this number is set at
two), which makes it even more difficult
for football clubs to engage their players in
controlled training sessions, as it would
effectively require having a personal
trainer for every single individual.
Improvised training strategies:

7. Player Impact
There are usually three types of internal communication between clubs and players. Two
that are intra-football department; one for all organisational, training and matchday matters,
and another one between an individual player and his direct management (i.e. coach and/or
sport director). The second one on disciplinary, contractual and other things that relate to the
bilateral relationship, and the third one between the club and players on non-sport-related
matters, which can include participation in commercial, marketing or community events,
official club-wide information or other such issues. Normally, there would be a mix of group
meetings, face-to-face, mobile or other contact, with a strong emphasis on confidentiality,
because information of any kind that is exchanged between the club and its players is
normally considered privileged.
Communication:
7
Remote Communication
• The COVID-19 crisis has meant that an
emphasis has had to be made on remote
means of communication – by telephone,
through standalone online communication
tools such as Skype, Zoom or Microsoft
Teams, or via dedicated club management
applications that contain a communications
module or connection to an external tool.
As all staff are also working remotely from
each other, this has created an additional
challenge as messages either have to go
through several different people to be
relayed, or the senior message sender has
to take communication duties into their own
hands, rather than relying on secretarial
support.
Confidentiality & Social Media
• Confidentiality remains a particularly
important consideration, as most
communication in Europe has moved
online, with the added consideration that
everything that is sent or spoken about via
online-based tools could be susceptible to
malicious access. Social media is playing a
prominent role during this period, as many
things are magnified online and have the
potential to cause reputational difficulties.
For example, clubs have experienced
situations where their player has posted
supposedly innocent footage of having a
kickabout with friends in a park, which
during a time when isolation is expected
does not paint him in the best of lights. Or
other players using all the best will in the
world to show themselves training on their
own in their home… but wearing boots and
playing football on a wet concrete floor next
to a swimming pool.
Be
available
24/7
Offer
timely info
Offer
precise
info
Show
positivity
Give
support
Provide
likely
scenarios
Explain
everything
Key thoughts on communication with players during crisis:
And consider individual personality when deciding on tone, needs and content!

8. Player impact
By the end of the initial stage of the COVID-19 crisis, this is probably going to be the longest
period of continuous time off playing matches and general inactivity (with all due respect to
home training programmes) in the professional careers of the vast majority of players,
discounting episodes of long-term injury. Even being on a bench will not be comparable,
because under normal circumstances a reserve player will still be involved in group training
and potentially friendly or practice matches. Sadio Mane of Liverpool stated in 2019 that he
has not had a holiday longer than 20 days in more than 7 years, and he is not alone in that:
top players who are involved with clubs getting to latter stages of domestic and international
competitions, as well as with national teams, regularly play more than 60+ games a season.
The last few weeks have meant the have abruptly stopped.
Modern sport science advises in very rough terms that for every one week of a lay-off,
players will need to have a week of training before regaining their match fitness. The present
lay-off is unprecedented in modern times. If the current stoppage lasts for a conservative six
weeks (e.g. in Italy resuming work in mid-April, and in most other European countries
resuming work in early May), it would mean players will have had a break longer than their
usual summer holidays, after which they normally have a pre-season typically lasting
between 4-6 weeks, with some practice matches to build up match fitness and sharpness.
Improvements in sports science, medicine and training planning mean that the period of
isolation does not have to be a complete disruption, since players can rely on increasingly
extensive knowledge of backroom staff on planning individual fitness regimes, as well as
specialised equipment and sophisticated monitoring tools for in-depth control of physiological
parameters. However, elite players are finely-tuned engines that thrive on a heightened state
of readiness, so it is not fully known how a prolonged stoppage will impact on their
conditions, and whether their conditions will be affected in the short to medium-term, or
whether the period when they return to action will see them have a higher susceptibility to
injury. Additionally, the complete absence of group training during an exceptionally long
period of time will surely also have some sort of effect, as combinations are less practiced
and top-level connections are forgotten.
Functional:
8
Uncertain long-term impact
• One aspect to highlight is the specific case of players who have contracted the virus during the
outbreak. There is a significant degree of individual variability in terms of the severity of the illness
process itself, and whilst it is generally expected that players should not suffer any long-lasting
effects and will make a complete recovery, the level of their functional loss is probably going to be
greater than of those players who have not had it, due to a period of inactivity and reduced energy.
Furthermore, some authors are suggesting that long-term sequels both from the virus itself, and
also from its treatment, should not be excluded. The science behind COVID-19 is still at an early
stage, which means there will be far more questions than answers at this point in time, and various
scenarios could still be possible until science demonstrates one way or another.

9. Player Impact
Functional:
Key success factors for minimising disruption to training process during lock down
9
•Focus and stress resistance of the football department
leadership team
•Collaborative spirit between coaches, medical and
performance staff, and players
Technical knowledge of the coaches
High level of individual and group communication
commonly practiced at the club
Creativity of the coaches
•Player and staff stress resistance
•Player and staff professionalism
•Technical capabilities (perf. management software,
GPS, communication tools, analytical tools…)
•IT-readiness of staff and players
•Adequate staff numbers to ensure individual player
monitoring
•Positive and caring atmosphere within the club

10. Player Impact
Just like most people, many football players, coaches and staff would have not experienced
anything even remotely resembling the current situation regarding the virus, such as self-
isolation, quarantines, work disruption, shortage of basic items, social and economic crisis,
lack of control and a post-apocalyptic feel to everything that has been going on. The normal
life of a football player typically revolves around the closed world of the dressing room,
training and matches, and all of this has been taken away in one quick move, without any
time to prepare or make any significant and thought-out plans.
The last few weeks of a professional footballer’s life have most likely been at home, training
by himself, with a lot of uncertainty hanging around:
Football is almost a secondary thought here, because many have suddenly had to jump
down from the very top of Maslow’s pyramid to the bottom two levels. Additional pressure
would have been added by the pressure of the club to agree to reduce wages or knowing
that the club has furloughed the playing squad and staff for the duration of the lockdown.
Clubs should already start putting in place proactive plans to different scenarios, ranging
from a mild “individual in self-isolation” to potential devastating loss of staff members or even
players, with adequate resources being allocated to ensure a bespoke and highly
individualised approach to everyone within the group, based on specialist advice and best
practice in the areas of behavioural psychology, high performance working environments,
crisis management etc.
One issue all clubs will have to deal with is going to be the exit from crisis and return to a
(new) normal. It is possible to approach this as an unknown and let things play out as they
come, but professional clubs should be able to do more than that. There has to be some
thought dedicated to the likely stress, anxiety and a pressing need to deal with wider issues
in the personal life of players and staff, which may not be conducive to an immediate return
to high performance if left unchecked and without support. After all, football after COVID-19
will most likely not feel “normal” for a very long time, if at all.
Psychological:
10
Are we going to be ok? When is this situation going to
end? How is it going to be resolved? What about
money and contracts? What about the teammates – is
X going to get a better deal than me now? How to get
supplies if they run out? How will the family deal with it
– partners, children, parents, close relatives – as they
all are facing a difficult time right now? Can my agent
get me a new club if this one lets me go or collapses?

11. Mild effect on players:
• Mild social distancing measures and disruption
• One or a few players or staff in isolation, without transmission
• Contained infection of several players from same group
• Slight contract reductions
Severe effect on players
• Increased social distancing measures and disruption
• All players in isolation, some infected
• All players and staff infected
• Significant contract reductions
Worst case scenario
• Severe social distancing measures and disruption causing panic
• Hospitalisation of key member(s) of staff
• Infection of individual(s) with underlying health condition (e.g. diabetes,
asthma)
• Multiple individuals developing severe pneumonia
• Myocardia due to virus
• Multiple players’ contracts cancelled
• Death of player, staff or family member
Factors impacting on individual response and additional
support needs:
• Psychological type
• Isolation stress
• Family disruption
• Death in a family at home or abroad
• Travel and movement restrictions
• Anxiety
• Family/spouse/children issues
• Severe cardiac illness in asymptomatic athlete
11
Level of Impact – Planning Assumptions
Player Impact

12. At the end of March 2020, many clubs all around Europe have announced their intention to
reduce or defer player wages, as being typically the single most important cost base. Without
revenues coming in, cashflow pressures are mounting, and relatively few clubs in European
leagues have sizeable cash reserves or crisis pots of money to absorb the effect of reduced
cash inflow at the most difficult period of time in budget terms. This at a time when the
season is still not finished and league distributions are far away, but at the same time season
tickets are not due for launch yet. Furthermore, depending on contractual terms and
consumer laws and regulations, clubs could face claims for repayment from sponsors and
season ticket holders in case the current season cannot be finished.
The likely effect of the current situation is going to be a generalised reduction in wages,
because football will be coming out of COVID-19 restrictions, together with the rest of the
global economy, on the back of an unprecedented economic downturn mixed in with social
upheaval on a level unheard of since the end of WW2 in the West, or the collapse of the
USSR and break-up of Yugoslavia in the East.
According to a report by Club Affairs, negative financial impact on clubs not playing any
matches will accumulate at a rate of more than 6% per month in their turnover. As clubs are
suffering economic hardship, their immediate crisis management response is focused on
reducing cashflow pressures, which means reducing wage payments to their players and
staff in the near-term to a level commensurate with available reserves. As a further financial
optimisation step, their player retention and recruitment plans will probably be put on hold or
reviewed to reduce outlay. Staffing levels will probably be looked at as well, and football
departments are typically the largest in any club, both in terms of financial impact and
numbers of people involved, especially if we combine professional teams with the academy.
This environment does offer a major opportunity for players though. As club owners and
executives look for ways out of this crisis, they will invariably come to speak with the players
as their club’s biggest financial cost base. This gives them the chance to have a full and
frank conversation about the value chain in football, and really engage players as equal
stakeholders (shareholders!?) in the value creation process. Players on their hand will need
to be ready not only to offer their assistance in the short term, but also recognise the
importance of the long-term stability of football clubs and take on the responsibility as co-
creators of the end product rather than just being “talent for hire” and financial beneficiaries
of the economic bonanza that has been evident at the top level of professional football in
Europe in the last years and decades.
Economic:
Player Impact
12

13. Return to Play
Stakeholders of the Process:
Players
Local
Government
Association
League
Government
Medical
Authorities
Broadcaster
Referees
Venue
Management
Supporters
Club(s)
RTP decision
13
Source: Club Affairs

14. Getting into a cycle of home confinement and significant restrictions on individual freedom
would probably have been unimaginable until March 2020, but after the decision has been
taken to place hundreds of millions of people in quarantine, getting out will be the
challenging part. Returning to play following the period of quarantine and lay-off will be an
extremely high profile decision and whoever takes it will take on a significant amount of
responsibility on themselves, especially if the COVID-19 outbreak will not have completely
subsided by the time it is taken, and the decision is taken to resume training with the aim of
resuming the season by playing matches behind closed doors.
It is going to be a decision, which will not be guided by the wishes of the football authorities,
but primarily by the view taken at national and local government level and by medical
authorities in each jurisdiction. Once a decision is taken and is successfully implemented in
one area, it is likely that others will follow. However, the first one to go for it will, most likely,
receive a lot of media attention, and there may well be significant exposure to criticism.
Clubs are not the only or primary driving force on the side of football here; if the football
industry wants to begin waking from hibernation at the earliest opportunity, that means that
the players, with their views, wishes, ideas, fears and interests will be a crucial stakeholder
in agreeing to resume training and playing. Whether done on a club-by-club basis, or as a
league-wide approach via the players’ union, it will require a balanced approach rather than
force on the part of clubs, who may well feel entitled to instruct their employees to do certain
things. Many players who will be out of contract in May or June 2020 will also have a strong
desire to be able to sort out their future as soon as possible. In the current situation, as many
players across the continent have already agreed to reduce their salaries voluntarily or have
been furloughed by their clubs, the clubs will not have the moral right to dictate to their
players, but rather will have to engage in dialogue and find ways to reassure them that it is
safe to resume activity under a duty of care and professional respect.
Key Considerations:
14
Return to Play Protocol
• One of the solutions to this challenge could be the development of a universal Return to Play
Protocol, which would ensure the medical, organisational and operational safety,
accountability and connectivity of the process, and would be applicable across all European
countries and leagues to maximise the level of responsibility of those taking part in the
resumption of activities. This RTP would stipulate periods of adaptive training prior to
activities, ensure an adherence to professional standards, and safeguard the interests of all
parties, who would have to be involved in a multi-stakeholder consultation to guarantee that
nobody is forced to do something they are not comfortable with.
• It is important to ensure that once the RTP is in place, it is communicated to all
players and related staff already during the period of quarantine, so that:
• a) they can begin preparing for it rather than living in the ultra-short-term crisis
mindset
• b) it would be possible to begin the full spectrum of “return to play” activities as soon
as it is practically possible and the situation is safe and secure enough

15. Potential Return to Play Process Timeline
Domestic infection peak
reached
+14/21 days: restrictions begin to
be relaxed on general population
+14 days: players come out from
quarantine and undergo a thorough medical
& functional test + COVID-19 test
+28 days minimum “pre-season” designed
specially for a post-COVID recovery and
preparation to resume matches
Available to re-start fixture programme - minimum two
months after reaching domestic infection peak, subject
to no other unforeseen circumstances developing
Starting point: RTP agreed
15

16. • It is likely, at least in the initial stage, that football would have to be played either behind
closed doors, or with a limited number of spectators, and under a revised approach to a
safe distance between spectators, their access to the venue, hygiene and cleaning.
• Players of all teams, backroom staff and anyone who will be directly involved in the
running of the match (e.g. referees), control (referee inspectors, match delegates, police
control), operation of the venue (e.g. stewards, cleaners, administration, medical staff),
match production (videographers, journalists, summarisers) will require to undergo a
period of quarantine as well as testing to ensure they are not asymptomatic carriers of the
virus prior to being involved in the match events.
• Players would have lost a significant amount of match readiness and sharpness following
the prolonged enforced lay-off, so instead of a dynamic end of season with athletes at the
peak of their performances, the opening weeks or even months of restarted football may
look less dynamic than normal, as players catch up their usual form and speed.
• The game itself may involve less contact between the players on the field.
• Initially, calendars will have to change to catch up, but this may pave the way to new
fixture lists and competition formats.
• Clubs and players will have to carefully watch any new regulations on the status and
transfer of players that are brought in by FIFA to mitigate the impact of the delay to the
end of season 2019/20, potentially looking at things like extending player registrations and
contracts or opening longer transfer windows in summer 2020. They will most likely be
temporary, but also have a knock-on effect on the following 2020/21 season.
• Match broadcasts may become more popular than before COVID-19 and viewer numbers
might see a recovery, particularly as they had suffered a slump in many countries
following a move from free-to-air to a paywall in recent years in many international and
European markets. However, pricings may need to be adjusted, as the economy enters a
turbulent period and the general population has less disposable income to spend on items
such as football subscriptions, merchandise and entertainment in general.
• There will be a significant number of clubs across Europe and globally fighting for their
survival, which means that there might be a large number of free agent players released
on to the transfer market at one time as squads are adjusted and wage bills cut. This will
lead to very strong competition for available spots, and overall a buyer’s market where
higher quality players will agree to move to clubs that have a more secure economic
position, with a subsequent downward pressure on transfer values and wages. Clubs that
base their business model on player recruitment and sell-on for a premium will most likely
have a challenging time.
How will football in the initial post-COVID period
will look like?
16

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Contributors to this Issue
Siri Wallenius
Managing Partner
siri@clubaffairs.ch
Geneva, Switzerland
Olivier Jarosz
Managing Partner
olivier@clubaffairs.ch
Geneva, Switzerland
Konstantin Kornakov
Strategy Council Member
konstantin@lttsports.com
Edinburgh, UK
Konrad Gozdzior
Strategy Council Member
konrad@lttsports.com
Geneva, Switzerland
LTT Sports constructs bespoke solutions based on football expertise from the
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COVID CRISIS 2020 IN FOOTBALL Previous analysis
#Issue 1 Financial First Response, Mitigation and Contingency, March 2020
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