The repurposing of Iranian sports venues has accelerated since the coronavirus pandemic started and countless coaches and sports club employees have become redundant, as the risk of severe Covid-19 infections and non-contagious diseases has increased.
Iran has 29,000 professional and non-professional sports clubs, 25,782 of which hold permits issued by the Ministry of Sports and Youth. About 150,000 coaches are also employed in these sports clubs.
With at least 10 employees per sports club, nearly 250,000-300,000 personnel have lost their jobs since the outbreak of Covid-19, as the population of regular exercisers has decreased from 3.5 million to one million people and the private sector has become less inclined toward making investment in sports.
Under the circumstances, sports clubs are facing the threat of bankruptcy. As many as 6,000 sports clubs across the country have either shut down or repurposed since the outbreak of Covid-19.
Majlis Research Center, the research arm of the Iranian Parliament, in a report blames the lack of rational and effective support on the part of government for the unprecedented shutdowns or repurposing of sports clubs during the pandemic.
As per the government’s coronavirus relief package, sports clubs could receive from 800 million rials to 9,600 million rials ($2,870-$34,530) in loans depending on the field of sport they specialized in. However, due to numerous challenges, nearly 90% of sports club owners have failed to secure these loans. The remaining 10% who managed to receive the loans had to start the repayment of installments after a six-month moratorium, although their businesses were still closed.
These loans, which have been granted at a lending rate of 12%, have seemingly pushed the debtors into a position of financial distress and bankruptcy such that forced closures of sports businesses are taking place at higher rates now.
MRC have made recommendations in this regard, including granting rent forgiveness for venues owned by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, general departments of sports and youth, Development and Maintenance of Sports Facilities of Iran and other governmental organizations, revising down the rent rates for fiscal 2021-22 and extending a one-year moratorium on loans, as many sports clubs have not enjoyed the loan relief so far and they were practically closed all along.
Plus, organizing an online physical fitness league by municipalities, in cooperation with related federations at local, provincial and national levels, would be a suitable strategy for withstanding the pandemic.
