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the beautiful game comes with a price
the beautiful game comes with a price
after the excitement of the euro football games, it now seems that there is bad financial hangover here in portugal...prime example is our white elephant stadium in faro ..used hardly at all.
anyway here is the article
Portuguese Soccer Near Collapse After $1 Billion Arena Spending
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Portugal, host of Europe's top soccer competition less than two years ago, is finding the $1 billion it spent on showpiece stadiums for the tournament is crippling the national game.
The 10 arenas built or refurbished for the 2004 European Championship have turned into white elephants. They are victims of no-shows, fans who can't afford to buy tickets because of the economy's demise, and increasing maintenance bills that are hurting teams who play on the fields.
Five teams folded this season and four-fifths of clubs are late with salary payments. Last weekend, the nine top-flight games attracted 80,000 fans to stadiums that hold a combined 278,000, according to national league statistics.
``It's the worst I've seen in 18 years living in Portugal,'' Edilson Pagani, the Brazilian technical director of third-division Louletano, said in an interview. The team gets attendance as low as 1,500 for a 30,000-seat arena. ``I've never seen so few fans,'' Pagani said.
Portuguese teams rely on ticket sales for 31 percent of turnover, almost double the average of counterparts in Italy, Germany and France, according to a 2004 study by Deloitte & Touche LLP. Clubs in the Iberian country, where Chelsea soccer coach Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan midfielder Luis Figo started out, now face the rising maintenance bills at stadiums.
The 18 division one teams in Portugal, including past European Cup winners Benfica and Porto, have 528,000 seats, or one for every 19 people, according to the national league. In Spain, home to Real Madrid and Barcelona, 20 top teams have 779,000 seats, or one for every 51 Spaniards, Spain's league said.
Trophies
On the field, Portuguese soccer has often punched above its weight since Benfica ended a run of five straight successes by Real Madrid to win the European Cup in 1961 and 1962, when it was led by striker Eusebio.
In 2004, Portugal's best-ever soccer year, its national team beat England, captained by David Beckham, on the way to reaching the European Championship final. The same year, Porto overcame Manchester United before winning Europe's Champions League.
Portugal's biggest teams, Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon, hog 70 percent of the combined 278 million-euro ($330 million) turnover of the top 40 teams, according to Deloitte & Touche. The trio has won all the domestic league titles bar one since 1947.
``We produce some of the world's best players but our national league is in a state,'' Joaquim Evangelista, 39, president of the national players' union, said in a telephone interview. ``Our big challenge is getting it back on track.
anyway here is the article
Portuguese Soccer Near Collapse After $1 Billion Arena Spending
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Portugal, host of Europe's top soccer competition less than two years ago, is finding the $1 billion it spent on showpiece stadiums for the tournament is crippling the national game.
The 10 arenas built or refurbished for the 2004 European Championship have turned into white elephants. They are victims of no-shows, fans who can't afford to buy tickets because of the economy's demise, and increasing maintenance bills that are hurting teams who play on the fields.
Five teams folded this season and four-fifths of clubs are late with salary payments. Last weekend, the nine top-flight games attracted 80,000 fans to stadiums that hold a combined 278,000, according to national league statistics.
``It's the worst I've seen in 18 years living in Portugal,'' Edilson Pagani, the Brazilian technical director of third-division Louletano, said in an interview. The team gets attendance as low as 1,500 for a 30,000-seat arena. ``I've never seen so few fans,'' Pagani said.
Portuguese teams rely on ticket sales for 31 percent of turnover, almost double the average of counterparts in Italy, Germany and France, according to a 2004 study by Deloitte & Touche LLP. Clubs in the Iberian country, where Chelsea soccer coach Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan midfielder Luis Figo started out, now face the rising maintenance bills at stadiums.
The 18 division one teams in Portugal, including past European Cup winners Benfica and Porto, have 528,000 seats, or one for every 19 people, according to the national league. In Spain, home to Real Madrid and Barcelona, 20 top teams have 779,000 seats, or one for every 51 Spaniards, Spain's league said.
Trophies
On the field, Portuguese soccer has often punched above its weight since Benfica ended a run of five straight successes by Real Madrid to win the European Cup in 1961 and 1962, when it was led by striker Eusebio.
In 2004, Portugal's best-ever soccer year, its national team beat England, captained by David Beckham, on the way to reaching the European Championship final. The same year, Porto overcame Manchester United before winning Europe's Champions League.
Portugal's biggest teams, Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon, hog 70 percent of the combined 278 million-euro ($330 million) turnover of the top 40 teams, according to Deloitte & Touche. The trio has won all the domestic league titles bar one since 1947.
``We produce some of the world's best players but our national league is in a state,'' Joaquim Evangelista, 39, president of the national players' union, said in a telephone interview. ``Our big challenge is getting it back on track.