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On Thursday (6.55 pm / live on DAZN) Rapid has a chance to reach the round of 32 of the Europa League in the home game against Molde. The promotion to the knockout stage would not only be attractive from a sporting point of view, it would also have a nice economic aspect. In this case, an additional seven-figure premium from UEFA would be expected.
The economic problems caused by the crown pandemic would not go away, especially since the amount would be reduced by bonus payments to players, for example. However, one would have no objection to the additional revenue, as commercial manager Christoph Peschek said. WHAT explained. “The boys worked hard for this final match and it would be a great sporting success if we were promoted, and we want that too. Of course, we are happy with every euro in the current situation.”
In the current financial plan, the additional income from the final sixteenth is not included. “After the win against Lok Zagreb (note: which at least guaranteed EL group stage participation), of course we only planned with group stage winnings out of commercial precaution,” said Peschek.
Last financial year ended with a loss of almost 200,000 euros, for 2020/21 the Viennese expects damages in double-digit millions in the worst case. Therefore, no large investments are expected in the upcoming winter transfer period and departures cannot be ruled out, even if there is additional money from UEFA. “We handle it as usual, we want to be prepared for all scenarios. But there will definitely be no emergency sales,” Peschek said.
Much more precarious than Rapid is the situation in Austria, which generated a loss of 18.8 million euros in 2019/20 and sits on a mountain of debt of 78 million euros. Peschek commented on the impending bankruptcy of Favoritner: “The Vienna derby is the most played on the European continent and has a decisive influence on Austria’s footballing culture. Every victory against our archrivals is emotionally very special, so I hope we have the as many victories as possible. experience green grass. “
Christoph Peschek on fans: “We hope to reach full capacity in spring”
As for Austria, the return of the spectators to the stadiums would also be of great importance to Rapid. “It will depend on the general epidemiological situation, but we hope to be able to play in front of the fans again soon. We have developed a very good concept of prevention and we have shown that it works very well. We look forward to moving towards full capacity in the spring.” Peschek reported.
This project could be sped up with vaccinations that are about to start or with antigen testing of fans immediately before they visit the stadium. “But we are not going to ask thousands of people to get vaccinated or do antigen tests,” Peschek said.
Still, vaccines and antigen testing could ease the financial situation. The latter are cheaper than PCR tests and have been officially approved as evidence of possible infection for upper house clubs since a club conference decision on November 19. It will soon be decided whether Rapid will choose the cheaper, but somewhat less reliable, variant from next year. “If we change, all the people in the red group will be tested twice a week,” Peschek announced.
If the result is positive, PCR testing should be performed on all members of the Red Group. Currently, PCR tests are performed once a week and twice during the weeks of the European Cup.
The costly and time-consuming testing procedure could be avoided if players and supervisors were vaccinated. “Based on all the information and knowledge, after consulting our medical department, we will define a directional decision for ourselves regarding the further course of action,” Peschek said. “Regarding vaccination, we will await the official information, including UEFA’s requirements, and we will also discuss it with the Bundesliga experts. But there will probably not be more than one vaccination recommendation.”
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