Det er ikke ligefrem nogen synderlig sjov periode de fleste virksomheder (og privatpersoner) gennemgår lige nu, og særligt fodboldklubber er ikke helt lette at styre i disse dage. Af den årsag er der for nylig opstået rygter om at Schalke 04 er ved at sælge deres League of Legends European Championship-plads for at spare penge.
Via en meddelelse på Twitter forklarer direktør Claudio Kasper følgende:
"For those of you that are unaware, the corona situation has heavily affected sports clubs globally, as fans being unable to go to the stadium means that a main driver or revenue is missing as of right now. Additionally, we're currently in one of the most difficult times since the existence of the football club in terms of competitive success in the Bundesliga, being in the standings.
Due to having to face a possible relegation to the 3nd Bundesliga and not knowing when fans will be able to come back to the stadium, the club needs to look into all options to secure additional funding.
We're currently in the process of evaluating different options that the club can take depending on the circumstances it'll find itself in by the end of the Bundesliga season. This includes, but is not limited to, selling the LEC slot to an interested buyer. However, no decision has been made as of right now, and the club getting relegated doesn't necessarily force us to sell the slot.
It's important to note that the club does not want or have to sell the LEC slot, as everyone has seen the incredible growth and long-term benefits of being able to compete in the incredible league. But there are possible future scenarios in which this move would be necessary to strengthen the core business football and we have to be prepared for that."
Det betyder forhåbentlig ikke at de er nødsaget til at sælge pladsen, men det kan åbenbart været at det bliver nødvendigt.