SPL can beat the financial storm, claims Neil Doncaster

Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster claims the competition's clubs are better placed than those in most leagues to survive harsh global economic conditions despite warnings contained in an annual report into their finances.

PricewaterhouseCooper analyst David Glen warned that the SPL could not keep losing fans after a review of the 2009-10 season's finances showed a fall of more than 1,500 in the average attendance, to 13,926.

Glen also pointed out that the collective profit of 1?million was dependent on 9m of debt forgiveness, mostly at Hearts, and warned clubs risked losing more fans as they sell players to balance the books. However, Doncaster stressed the good news from the report: increased turnover and a fifth combined profit during a season when Barclays Premier League clubs made a collective loss of 445m and Championship clubs shipped around 130m.

The former Norwich chief executive also pointed out that the wage-to-turnover ratio fell from 66 to 61 per cent while the net debt remained "pretty static" during a season blighted by economic recession and the collapse of broadcast partner Setanta.

Doncaster, writing in his blog on www.scotprem.com, said: "Clearly the ongoing global recession has had a severe impact on fans' ability to follow their teams. But this impact is not restricted to the SPL, and affects the vast majority of sports across the UK and the rest of the world. The figures are also more than a year old. When the next edition of the PwC emerges next summer, it will show only a small decrease in attendances over season 2010/2011.

"Moreover, the Clydesdale Bank Premier League is still the best supported league per head of the population anywhere in Europe, with 85,000 fans (ie one in 63 of the entire population of Scotland) attending matches each week."

Doncaster claimed the results were "incredibly encouraging" given the loss of the 130m Setanta deal and pointed out the initiatives clubs were launching to attract more families to football, one of which has seen Motherwell increase their season-ticket sales by more than 10 per cent.

Doncaster added: "Early indications this season are that TV viewer numbers for SPL matches are well up on last year, which in turn showed a huge improvement on the year before.

"Our best players and managers continue to remain desirable to the financial juggernauts of the English Premier League.

"And our clubs are weathering a financial storm that continues to debilitate businesses everywhere.

"No-one is pretending that life is easy at the moment, least of all for hard-pressed fans who give up huge amounts of their hard-earned income to follow the teams that they love.

"But equally, it's not all doom and gloom - far from it. There are many reasons to be cheerful about a league that remains incredibly well supported by any measure, both in this country and abroad. Our clubs remain iconic in the world of sport, with fans for whom football means so much.

"All this means that while not everything in the garden is rosy, the SPL and its clubs are undoubtedly better placed than most leagues to withstand the financial storms that continue to batter our shores."