The 20 clubs in the English championship have confirmed the good performance of Boxing Day despite the resurgence of Covid-19 across the Channel. A maintenance driven by both economic and symbolic considerations.
It’s that time of the year. As every year, the fan of football weaned for three days will be able to turn to England and its timeless Boxing Day. An exceptional program regardless of physical conditions (three matches in one week) and health (90,000 new cases on average). Boxing Day against all odds.
Especially since the health situation does not spare the Premier League, forced to deprogram six of its ten meetings of the 18th day due to positive tests for Covid-19 (90 identified at the start of the week, 84% of players vaccinated) . To avoid jeopardizing the sacrosanct “Day of the Boxes”, the coach of newcomer Brentford, Thomas Frank, argued in favor of an outright postponement of the 18th day and quarterfinals of the League Cup, where his own were beaten by a reshuffled Chelsea: “Postponing this day and also the Coupe de la Ligue would give everyone at least a week or four or five days to disinfect and do whatever it takes in the training centers. This would break the chain (of contamination) in all the clubs and we could have a Boxing Day without a problem.»
A request formulated in vain, therefore. But the high mass of English football will nevertheless take place as if nothing had happened. Well almost, since three matches have already been postponed Sunday, Wolverhampton-Watford, Everton-Burnley and especially Liverpool-Leeds. This forced postponement should nevertheless satisfy Jürgen Klopp, the influential coach of the Reds who in 2019 described as a “crime” the Boxing Day calendar. A bell that he kept at the beginning of the week, before this postponement: “It’s already abnormal to ask players to play every other game when everything is going well, but it makes no sense to do so in the current situation. This is absolutely not normal.»
Satisfy broadcasters
His Reds will therefore return to the competition on Tuesday, December 28 in Leicester (9 p.m.), the freshness of which will inevitably pose a question after an already perilous trip to Manchester City two days earlier. Because barring a last-minute twist, Boxing Day will start its marathon well this Sunday, December 26. “We see the place of football in British society, where it is different from home, remarks Vincent Chaudel, co-founder of the Observatoire du Sport Business. With us, the Prime Minister can decide to close the championship at once. If Boris Johnson deprived people of Boxing Day, he would have some concerns.»
Read alsoWhat is Boxing Day in England?
Because these days of celebratory football have established themselves as an institution across the Channel since their first iteration … in 1860. The day after the turkey and the pudding, the British passionately follow these generally prolific games (the record remains the Boxing Day of 1963 with 66 goals in 10 matches). That is why Amazon, which now broadcasts Ligue 1, embarked on the acquisition of the rights for the day of December 26 in 2019.
From now on, the American giant, against 30 million pounds per season (35 million euros), exclusively holds 20 matches per season, namely the 20th and 21st days. The issue of postponement for the broadcaster then arises. “Amazon bought one of the Boxing Day mining bundles so it wouldn’t be good news for them. The championship takes advantage of this inter-holiday period to increase the number of matches and satisfy the broadcaster.», Agrees Vincent Chaudel. Before broadening the spectrum: “International rights holders can also be cheated, it is the domino effect of this kind of decisions or situations. There is the main effect on the domestic market and then on the international market.»In France, broadcasters Canal+ and RMC Sport (who share a bill of around 100 million euros per season) would inevitably suffer from a postponement, knowing that they benefit from Boxing Day to water their sporting offer in this traditionally calm period at the sporting level.
Read alsoThree matches that marked Boxing Day
Behind closed doors… after Boxing Day?
In all likelihood, broadcasters will not deplore the black screen for the holidays, or at most sparingly. No more than the supporters will miss the stands of the Kingdom. Unlike last year, where Boxing Day was held behind closed doors, or according to a limit of 5,000 spectators. “Obviously it’s better with audiences than without, but the problem is especially with broadcasters, explains Vincent Chaudel. For the clubs, if Boxing Day should ever be canceled, the matches will be postponed so those who have the ticket for the match will be able to return. The impact is a cash flow mismatch more than a loss.»
A postponement would have a societal impact, a closed session would have a ticketing impact for the club, and a cancellation would have an impact mainly for the broadcasters.
Vincent Chaudel, co-founder of the Observatoire du Sport Business
Because ticketing revenues are not negligible for clubs during Boxing Day, where prices are slightly reassessed, while attendance records are noted. “In the event of a postponement, there will still be a loss beyond the ticket office because it remains Boxing Day, gift day, so these are days when the shops are in full swing.“, However, recalls the sports economist. Before summarizing: “If there is a postponement, then there is a societal impact. If there is a closed session, there is a ticketing impact for the club. And the cancellation has an impact mainly for the broadcasters, like the postponement.»
Read alsoPremier League: towards a return behind closed doors after Boxing Day?
Maintaining it as it is is therefore the most probable hypothesis in order to satisfy all parties, despite an alarming health situation and an already overloaded schedule, to which will be added the deadline of the CAN (January 9 -February 6), which limits the possibilities of postponement. A closed session as a last resort is also highly unlikely according to the British press, at least for December 26, since Prime Minister Boris Johnson could speak no earlier than Monday December 27. In parallel, the elite clubs are already preparing to replay behind closed doors … after Boxing Day, reports the Telegraph. A final sign of the importance of these decidedly special days, the 2022-2023 season interrupted by the Winter World Cup in Qatar (November 21-December 18) will resume… on December 26, 2022.
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