FOOTBALL AND MONEY TV royalties saved several football clubs in the First League from bankruptcy

The earnings from the sale of TV royalties have allowed several clubs in the First League to avoid bankruptcy this championship season. Ranked 11th in Europe in terms of earnings from TV broadcasting rights, 28.3 million Euros per season, the League coordinated by Dumitru Dragomir, is worth more than the similar championships of Belgium or Switzerland.

This autumn, after the team failed to make the groups of the Champions League, the owner of Unirea Urziceni was one step away from shutting down the club, after selling several players, and terminating the contracts of others. Dumitru Bucşaru later changed his mind, for reasons which were explained by the president of the Professional Football League, Dumitru Dragomir: "Unirea Urziceni can not be dissolved before the summer of 2011, because it would have to pay us back the money for the TV broadcasting rights". In the 2009-2010 season, the team of Urziceni was ranked second in the championship and received 2.5 million Euros from the Professional Football League. In the case of smaller clubs, TV royalties account for 50% of the annual budget, but not even the high-flying clubs like Dinamo, Steaua or Rapid turn their noses up at this source of income. At the end of the first season, several presidents admitted that their teams had great financial troubles, and that the money from the broadcasting of their games was the only certain source of income for next year. One of the teams whose games have very good TV ratings - Universitatea Craiova - is also in a very difficult situation.

The TV broadcasting rights for the matches in the First League are currently held by the consortium consisting of RCS&RDS and Antena 1, which paid 102 million Euros for a 3-year contract. The management of the League hopes to see a profit at least 10% higher than this year upon the signing of a new contract. The 18 clubs in the first division want at least 115 million Euros.

The payments for all the teams are as follows: First place receives 3.2 million Euros; Second place - 2.5; Third and Fourth Place4 - 2.2 million; Fifth and Sixth Place - 2 million; 7.8 - 1.8 million; 9, 10 - 1.5 million; 11, 12 - 1.2 million; 13, 14 - 1 million. Teams that get promoted to the First League will be paid 800,000 Euros each.