© BELGIUM
KV Mechelen’s annual accounts show that the club suffered a loss of more than six million euros last season. Remarkable, because KV Mechelen has made modest gains in the past two seasons. At the club they are not worried about their license for next season.
Koen French
KV Mechelen’s annual accounts turn quite red. For the 2021-2022 financial year, a loss of EUR 6,366,677 was recorded in the income statement. Operating income rose slightly last year, but costs rose from 24.5 million euros to 32.3 million euros last season. “Energy, personnel, but especially the social status of professional football players has changed a lot,” confirms CEO Frank Lagast. “As a result, everything has become much more expensive for football clubs. Unfortunately, professional football is treated very harshly from a fiscal point of view. And corona also played a role.”
“The solution to obtain our professional license in the first sitting is a capital increase. I am quite confident about that, because there are strong people ready to finance our club,” says Lagast. “This is my fourth year at the club and we have always obtained our license in first sitting during that difficult period. As always, we will continue to turn over every euro in the following months, but we will also continue to invest in our sporting activities.”
Depends on outgoing transfers
The 2021-2022 season was less for KV Mechelen than in previous seasons, especially in terms of transfer. Due to the outgoing transfers of Aster Vranckx and Issa Kaboré, Malinwa broke even relatively easily in the years before. “We deliberately did not sell a few players last year and our sporting budget was also increased. Fortunately, we have very loyal supporters and sponsors. Operationally, we are doing better than a lot of other clubs. But nowadays that is no longer enough. In the current football climate, you also have to sell players every season or you will make a structural loss,” concludes Lagast.
