FIFA deficit may reach $100 million as crisis takes it toll

FIFA are facing a deficit of $100 million, new figures have revealed ©Getty Images

The crisis engulfing FIFA looks to be taking its toll on the football governing body’s finances, with reports emanating from Zurich tonight to the effect that the 2015 deficit will be worse than budgeted.

A forecast given to the organisation’s ruling Executive Committee, gathered in the Swiss city for a key two-day meeting, was said to have indicated a loss of around $100 million (£67 million/€94 million).

This would be more than three times the budgeted deficit of $30 million £20 million/(€28 million) after depreciation and taxes.

FIFA would not confirm the figure, while cautioning that currency fluctuations and other factors might yet have an impact on the final outcome.

Nonetheless, a deterioration from original projections would hardly be surprising, given the disastrous year that the body has endured.

It seems a safe bet, for example, that marketing rights will be falling below expectations.

FIFA had projected income of $2.3 billion (£1.4 billion/€1.7 billion) from this source, including ticketing and hospitality, for the entire 2015-2018 cycle, culminating with the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

On the cost side, it would be surprising if legal and administrative costs were not significantly higher than initially budgeted.

Finances are usually tight at FIFA the year after a World Cup ©Getty Images

The first year after a World Cup is generally the tightest in FIFA’s four-year cycle.

The body had managed, nevertheless, to generate a surplus in the first year of each of its last three quadrennia; these totalled CHF141 million (£93 million/$139 million/€130 million) in 2003, $49 million (£33 million/€46 million) in 2007 and $36 million (£24 million/€34 million) in 2011.

In spite of its difficulties, FIFA is still in relatively solid shape financially, assuming that its sole quadrennial cash cow - the World Cup - continues to deliver the goods.

Reserves built up over recent years stood at more than $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion/€1.4 billion) at the end of 2014.

The body had made clear, indeed, that the era of deliberate reserve-building was over and that it was calling therefore for a balanced budget over the 2015 to 2018 period.

Detailed figures for 2015 are not expected until next March or April, by which time the organisation should be under new leadership following its scheduled Presidential election in February.