Barnet chairman fears club will become semi-professional due to coronavirus suspension

Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthous has confessed he fears the club could become a semi-professional side if the outbreak of coronavirus continues to strangle finances.

All non-league fixtures were postponed until April 3 earlier this week, but they could be pushed back further after on Thursday it was agreed Premier League and Football League sides would not play again until April 30.

The lack of matches has hit non-league sides hard as they are heavily reliant on matchday revenue to stay afloat.

On Tuesday, Kleanthous duly placed all non-playing staff, around 60 people, on notice as he fears it could be months before football is being played again and, if the shutdown continues, a lack of money coming in could cause National League Barnet to become a semi-professional club.

“It has affected all the staff, including [head coach] Darren [Currie] himself,” Kleanthous told Standard Sport.

“At the end of the day I don’t know when we are going to play again and whether, when we are playing again, we will be part-time, full-time, semi-professional, fully professional.

“Don't misunderstand, I hope it is not necessary [to be semi-professional]. But we have a large complex here.

“The Hive London is a seven-day-a-week complex and what it does is generate income that supports our team.

“At the minute the bars are closed, the cafe is closed, the gym has two people in it, the football centre has nobody there, people are cancelling their banqueting and events.

“Without all of that support income, which is what keeps Barnet Football Club punching above its weight and supports the team full-time, obviously if that income is not there then we can't run on the same basis as we have done in the past.”

Kleanthous insists his actions this week were not taken lightly and all staff and suppliers will be paid in full so Barnet have no liabilities moving forward during a period of uncertainty, which he believes could rumble on for much of the summer.

“All I did was I thought I am not going to be the person who sits there waiting and then crying about it when it all goes wrong,” he added.

“I am going to do what has to be done. Sit down, talk to the people here, be realistic and find solutions.”

There is now a fear other non-league clubs will be forced to make similar cuts in the coming weeks as the financial toll of coronavirus is witnessed.

The National League are hoping the government could step in with a £17million package to save the 68 non-league clubs, but Kleanthous fears that will only prop them up for so long.

“I get very concerned when people band numbers around because when you say £17m, well that might help for two or three months, but what happens if this goes on for six, 12 months?” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, the National League is doing the right thing by trying to understand what the effects are. But I would have thought that is the minimum starting point for them.

“I have had a huge number of club chairmen, both in the National League and the Football League, ring me up and say to me: ‘You are doing what we all know we have to do’.

“They have discussed their various problems with me and there is a similar core that runs through it all.”

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