This archive report was first published on 7 May 2020.
As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Premier League is facing a daunting challenge: how to resume play without fans in the stands. According to English Football Association chairman Greg Clarke, social-distancing guidelines make it impossible for supporters to congregate in stadiums 'any time soon.'
The Premier League's 'Project Restart' aims to avoid paying back millions in TV revenue, with clubs potentially missing out on Sh95 billion ($946 million) for failing to complete this season alone. However, the league's reliance on television revenues is a double-edged sword, as it also means that the atmosphere provided by thousands of passionate fans is a crucial factor in the league's economic model.
"The whole economic model only works when the grounds are pretty full," said Richard Scudamore, who oversaw the Premier League's growth into a vast commercial giant from 1999 to 2018. "No actor likes playing in front of an empty hall," he told the Telegraph.
While the Premier League is hoping to mitigate the loss of matchday income by allowing fans to buy 'virtual season tickets' to watch every match live, experts warn that the essence of what makes the Premier League special might be lost. "Short-term there might be people who want to watch games on television," said Mark Doidge, a senior research fellow at the University of Brighton. "But I think the novelty will wear off very quickly when you realise that actually a large part of what drives the game is not just the people on the pitch, but the people in the stands."
