After a second year in a pandemic, the MX League celebrates that its economy begins to recover. According to the report of the Assembly of Owners At the end of 2021, the league returned to profitability for the first time since 2016, which implies greater self-sufficiency for clubs and less dependence on resources from the Mexican Football Federation (FMF).
“The league is an administrative entity that works mainly to support the clubs. What we set ourselves as a central objective is to see how we cost the teams less and with that generate a positive or negative result, like any company. The program for 2021 came with losses and from an effort of all of us in the league, from rationality and from the fact that some tournaments were not played, we were able to generate economies so that instead of asking for money from the league FMF we can generate profits. In 2022 an additional income is also programmed and that means that, since it does not cost money to the FMF, clubs can directly receive support for player training without any reduction ”, he explained. Mikel Arriola, executive president of the MX League, to El Economista.
Arriola elaborated on the fact that in the league “salaries are paid, things are bought and permanent demands are generated that go up in costs,” so receiving profits for the first time in five years is a point in favor and more with the ravages of the pandemic.
According to the report presented by Arriola, the EBITDA from MX League (results before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, for its acronym in English) reached a profit percentage of 222% of what was estimated for all of 2021, while total growth is projected for the end of 2022 of 127%.
“We review a sheet where it is seen that we already have, in real time of the tournament, the total expenses and club income. That would have been impossible without economic control, now we know for each of the items where the expenses are going and what the proportion of income is. The assembly authorizes the league so that the economic control guidelines are part of the competition regulations and that also fosters an area of retentions ”, stressed the manager.
One of the entities most favored by this economic stability is the Expansion League, where the proportion of subsidies continues to be high, although Mikel Arriola He explains that he sees this money as an investment that has allowed 235 players to debut since this division began in the summer of 2020.
The Expansion League It is the one with the highest audience growth, having a total of 6.2 million viewers during the current tournament, which is 68% more than what it monopolized in the Guardians 2021In addition, the debut of soccer players increased from 36 to 56 and several of them made the jump to Liga MX, where the proportion also grew from two players to 13 who advanced in division.
Arriola also highlighted that the total value of the MX League increased by 10% between 2020 and 2021, which is a percentage twice what it had reported in recent years (5%). The valuation, which includes squad and infrastructure prices, puts the league at $ 2.329 million, up from $ 2.115 last year, according to Forbes figures.
Investment in infrastructure went from 22.7 to 37.7 million dollars, that is, 66% more between March and October of this year, while the stadium attendance threw a total of two million people, which although it still represents 50% of what there was before the covid, represents 264% more attendees than in the last tournament, the Guardians 2021.
“With our covid protocols we have gone from a year 2020 with 32% of infections between squads to a last tournament (Apertura 2021) with 7%. All the stadiums have been opened in accordance with all the protocols of the local health secretariats and we will continue permanently testing our players ”.
Other points he emphasized Arriola It was the growth in active time and the ratings that the tournaments in the United States generated. Regarding the first, the MX League increased 8%, Liga MX Women 4% and that of Expansion a 9%.
Regarding the ratings, the All-Star Game between the MX League and the MLS, disputed for the first time during July, was seen by 1.6 million people in Mexico and 1.4 million in USA, beating the Campeones Cup they played Blue Cross and Columbus Crew, which brought together 173,780 viewers in Mexico and 1.04 in the United States.
“Six months ago we offered a work plan based on three fundamental axes and in that sense we are closing a good 2021 in sports, economic and commercial matters and in terms of corporate order. Of course we are not satisfied yet, but despite the challenges of the pandemic our industry is solid, robust and has a very certain future in our country and internationally ”, he diagnosed Mikel Arriola.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx