The Romanian Football Federation makes a profit, while the football clubs are nearing collapse

The 2009 activity report of the Romanian Football Federation illustrates speaks for itself when it comes to the results of its management team led by Mircea Sandu and Ionuţ Lupescu. The National team isn"t good enough to qualify for any major tournaments, half of the clubs in the First League have serious financial difficulties, teams in the lower divisions are about to become an extinct species, but the federation still makes a profit. The figures speak for themselves: in 2009, the Romanian Football Federation had revenues of 75,963,488 lei, expenses of 59,987,860 lei, and a profit of 15,975,628 lei. The scales are balanced, at least at first glance, but it is obvious that any strategy for growth doesn"t go beyond the doors of the Federation. While the latter is booming, the championship is withering.

Mircea Sandu is being extremely parsimonious, in spite of the profit that the Federation made in 2009, and has launched a comprehensive reorganization process. The main goal of the Romanian Football Federation is to cut expenses, even the meeting allowances for all the 14 members of the Executive Committee were cut in half, from 1,680 to 840 lei. The collaboration contracts for people aged over 70 years were also cancelled. The 2010 wage bill for the 100 employees of the Romanian Football Federation has been cut to 2.31 million Euros. Seriously interested in optimization and streamlining, Sandu has worked out a solution for the First League as well: cutting the number of teams, with a similar measure being planned for the lower leagues. The lack of projects is dramatically narrowing the available number of players from which to pick the players for the national team.

The chairman of the Professional Football League is also very skeptical concerning the future of the First League, even though he emphatically announces that the amounts from TV broadcasting rights will set a new record: "We will have to decide next summer if we can continue with 18 clubs in the First League. At this moment, 12 clubs are in a critical situation. Sponsorships have dried out, advertising on the stadiums is dead, and no one is financing football anymore. We have decided that the League will no longer take in the money from the TV broadcasting rights, and will distribute it to the clubs instead. The League will make more than 120 million Euros from TV rights, in spite of the crisis".

Officially at least, they"re doing great!