The Coronavirus pandemic has put the entire world on a standstill mode. Every sporting event has been either postponed or cancelled. Due to which many sporting bodies have now started feeling the financial crisis. Cricket Australia (CA) has a similar story. They have been broadly hit by the COVID-19 and have gone into a fiscal catastrophe.
As per local media reports, CA Chief Executive Kevin Roberts told staff that because of the financial problem, the governing body would not have been able to pay its bills at the end of August without downsizings.
This is why CA have decided to lay off almost 80% of the staff. It means that the staff will now receive only 20% pay until June 30 as of now. Even Australia’s men’s cricket team coach, Justin Langer, is not spared from the drastic cuts.
As per reports, Langer has been considered as a part-time employee and sent in the category of non-essential staff. The chief Roberts and other executives have also taken a 20 per cent pay cut. The uncertainty is also levied on players contracts as the apex board has projected a 50 per cent loss of revenue in the next financial year.
After the dispute in 2017, it was decided that players will be paid under a revenue-share model. As per that deal, there will be severe losses for players if the T20 World Cup and India Test series do not go ahead as planned. CA remains hopeful for both the World Cup and India series.
Earlier, on Thursday, CA had issued a statement and said: “impacts on the sports industry of the coronavirus pandemic are bigger than any one sport”.
“We are conscious of the impact this will have on Australian Cricket and are working hard to manage that proactively.”
“We will continue to seek advice from medical experts and relevant government agencies to ensure the health and safety of our people, volunteers and communities, and to return to business as soon as possible.”
