Barnet have been forced to lay off all non-playing staff due to fears over the club’s long term future. It comes after the National League followed the Premier League and EFL by suspending all games until 4th April due to fears over the coronavirus. During this time, clubs will be unable to make money through ticket sales and other sources of matchday income.
Barnet Make 60 Staff Members Redundant Due to Football Suspension
Staff Given Redundancy Notice
Since relegation from League Two, the Bees have seen their attendances halve. They’re also losing around £100,000 a month. A statement on the club website read:
“The Club budgeted for this cost in the hope of promotion but of course, at the end of April, all of our parachute funding will cease. Therefore we need to make savings accordingly. In addition to these challenges, we have to consider the greater challenge of the impact that Covid-19 will have in the immediate and long-term future.
“In order to meet the challenges ahead of us, we will have to dismantle our existing cost structure and look to rebuild for next season with a much leaner cost base.
“We have therefore taken the difficult decision to put all Barnet FC staff on notice. This is to include all first-team coaching and backroom staff, the Barnet FC Academy and many of the operational staff across all areas of the Club.
“Supporters will understandably want to know how this situation affects our Head Coach, Darren Currie. Darren has a long notice period within his contract and as such, should the season resume, he will remain in charge until at least the end of the season and possibly beyond.”
Difficult Decisions
Club Chairman Tony Kleanthous said: “Our greatest concern is that within the UK and across the entire world, people are losing loved ones. Our sympathies and thoughts go out to everyone affected but right now, I have to focus my attention closer to home and look at the impact it’s having on our Club.
“It is my responsibility to ensure Barnet FC continues to survive and remains financially stable and therefore, I have had to make difficult decisions.
“I have to be open and honest with the staff and it’s been a difficult past few days having to deliver the bad news but it’s something that had to be done.
“I have not had time to think about plans for next season yet but we will have to find a way to move forward based upon our current crowd attendance because existing National League rules limit any signings we can make or players’ salaries we can commit to going forward.
“The knock-on effects are of course heart-breaking for me personally as I am fully aware of how this will impact my phenomenal team of hard-working support staff across the group.”
Barnet Could Be the First of Many Clubs to be Forced Into Drastic Action
The Bees are the first club that have been forced into emergency measures. Many clubs will be hit hard financially during these uncertain times. The lower the level, the more a club relies on ticket sales generally. And if football is either suspended or played behind closed doors beyond early Arpil, we could see many more job losses as clubs desperately try to stay afloat.
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