London, (Samajweekly) Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur announced on Thursday that it has secured a loan of 175 million pounds from the Bank of England.
Spurs said in a statement that they expect losses due to the coronavirus pandemic “could exceed 200 million pounds for the period to June, 2021.”
Spurs said the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Ltd (THS) met the criteria for the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) scheme to avail short-term loans. It clarifed that the funds will not be used to acquire new players.
“The facility, which will not be used for player acquisitions, has been arranged to ensure we have financial flexibility and additional working capital during these challenging times. The Club has opened a multi-use venue designed to deliver diversified revenue streams and created jobs, homes and schools as part of the regeneration of our neighbourhood,” said the club.
“We have always run this Club on a self-sustaining commercial basis. I said as early as 18 March that, in all my 20 years at the Club, there have been many hurdles along the way but none of this magnitude — the COVID-19 pandemic has shown itself to be the most serious of them all,” said club Chairman Daniel Levy.
The Premier League still has 92 outstanding fixtures to be played.
The Premier League is currently scheduled to resume on June 17 after all elite football games in England were suspended on March 13 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus which has claimed more than 3.8 lakh lives across the world thus far.
Liverpool lead the Premier League table by 25 points with nine games remaining as they chase their first title in 30 years.
Recently, Aston Villa footballer Tyrone Mings said players were the ‘last people to be consulted’ over the English Premier League’s restart plans, which he feels is ‘financially driven’.
