Football
Mark Ogden, Senior Writer, ESPN FC 4y

England's Southgate to take 30% pay cut; Sweden to furlough manager

England manager Gareth Southgate is to take a 30% pay cut on his £3 million-a-year salary after the English Football Association revealed that it faces losses of up to £150m due to the coronavirus crisis, the same day the Swedish FA announced it will furlough national team manager Janne Andersson.

With the Premier League currently in negotiation with the Professional Footballers' Association over a proposed league-wide 30% pay deferral for every top-flight player, the FA has announced a tiered scheme of cuts that will see Southgate and England Women's manager Phil Neville taking a temporary reduction in wages of 30%.

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The suspension of football in England has already resulted in the FA's revenue streams being hit by the loss of FA Cup ties and England internationals at Wembley.

The postponement by UEFA of Euro 2020, which was due to stage its semifinals and finals at Wembley this summer, has dealt another blow to FA finances and chief executive Mark Bullingham has now announced that all staff members earning more than £50,000-a-year will face cuts rising from 7.5% to 30% for the top earners.

"We've taken an immediate and significant financial impact due to the postponement of England internationals, Emirates FA Cup matches and Wembley events, and there is currently no clear timescale on when they will return," Bullingham said.

"The total financial impact is currently forecast to be around £100m, but it could easily exceed £150m depending on the duration of the government's necessary medical measures.

"Along with many other organisations across the country, we are currently reviewing our financial model during this challenging period. We want to take prudent and appropriate steps to help protect and support the FA and our employees during this unpredictable time.

"We are proposing that all employees earning £50,000 or more per annum will take a temporary pay reduction of 7.5%.

"In the spirit of those on higher salaries taking the greater responsibility, the senior management team have agreed to cut their pay by 15% with the highest earners in the organisation agreeing to reduce their pay by up to 30%."

The FA Cup is currently suspended at the quarterfinal stage, while international friendlies against Italy and Denmark have already been cancelled due to the coronavirus shutdown.

The shutdown isn't only affecting England. Sweden manager Andersson will be furloughed until the end of May, the Swedish FA announced on its website.

Ninety employees, among them Andersson and women's national team boss Peter Gerhardsson, would have their working hours cut until the end of May.

"By reducing working hours, we can reduce the financial burden on the organisation, and thus also the risk that the business will be adversely affected. Of course, this is something we would prefer to avoid, but in the current situation it is a necessary and important measure," SvFF general secretary Hakan Sjostrand said in a statement.

Andersson's team had qualified for the Euro 2020 tournament which has been postponed until 2021. Gerhardsson's side were aiming for another Olympic medal in Tokyo after winning bronze at the Rio 2016 Games until this year's Olympics were also postponed.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

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