Athletic announced yesterday in San Mamés the accounts it manages for the end of last season and the budget for this one. The COVID pandemic has also hit the Bilbao club. The total hole caused in the rojiblanca entity by this deadly virus and its fatal consequences amounts to 37.4 million. To the accountant Jon
Ander
from
the
Sources He had to explain first and then answer all the questions related to this problem in a rojiblanca key. His speech lasted around an hour and a half.
In the always cumbersome world of numbers, as in almost everyone else, the message needs to be clear, concise and concrete. Difficult to reach all partners and non-partners with the muddy ground beforehand. The accountant of the board of directors of Aitor
ElizegiHowever, he managed to get out of such a compromised process. The ball to the ground prevailed throughout his speech despite influencing matters that are often only available to those who understand numbers, accounts and budgets.
The club, by the way, knew how to be at the height this time in terms of information and communication. The usual thing in the days before the Athletic assemblies used to be for many years, many, that the memory was filtered beforehand. This time, instead, everyone had access to the charts, budgets and other matters related to the accounts of the Ibaigane entity at the same time. Members were even able to access them while the press conference was being held, a conference that could be followed live and direct from the club's official website.
The complaints about the delay of this call prior to the assembly of delegates on the 27th of this month also had their corresponding explanation by De las Fuentes. The current abnormality in professional football, according to the accountant, motivates different corrections on the fly. Some other clubs were apparently forced to 'update' their accounts even after submitting them.
Outside noise
The Athletic accountant had to answer the question of what opinion he had about the fact that some delegates had announced in advance their no to the accounts of the past and present season: “This issue concerns us more than it concerns us. The criterion of prudence has always encouraged this directive to make decisions. From the day we walked through the door of Ibaigane, the noise is permanent. They pay us for this ”. This last tagline was unnecessary because it can give rise to misunderstandings since Athletic managers do not charge for exercising as such.
The controversial 30%
The rojiblanco club has estimated during this pandemic between two seasons (past and present) that the destination of the membership card fee relative to professional football is 70% and that the remaining 30%, the so-called social fee, It contributes to developing the nature of Athletic (youth football, women's football, coaches, agreements, medical centers, investments in infrastructure …). The proposal of the directive to the member in this regard consists of “that the compensation for the parties in which they have not been able to attend San Mamés is 70% on that basis, not 100% of the price of their card.”
From the Sources He insisted that “we know that it is an unpopular measure, but that 30% to be distributed among the 40,000 members represents 7.4 million euros for our coffers. We have no plan B on this. What we request is something good ”. The accountant himself assured that it is the same as if the license fee from last season rose 12% in the present. Not everyone sees it so clearly.