France: Première Ligue union offers a revival plan for French professional football after Covid-19

Exemption from employer charges for professional clubs for the second semester of 2020 (01/07 to 31/12/2020), reinstatement of a mechanism similar to the DIC (right to collective image) from 2020 to 2024 or even reduction of the Buffet tax (the funding of the National Sports Agency being offset by the State), these are some of the eight proposals that the Première Ligue union (primarily Ligue 1 club presidents) formulates in its post-coronavirus recovery plan entitled "Reconstructing professional football" and presented by the French business daily Les Échos on 23/07/2020.

A study by the consulting firm EY for Premier League (see linked article), estimates a €605m loss in direct impact on Ligue 1 clubs from the Covid-19 crisis, including the "results of transfer operations".

To free up new resources, the union, chaired by Bernard Caïazzo (AS Saint-Etienne) suggests the establishment of a tax incentive mechanism for investment in sports sponsorship (exceptional tax credit of an amount equal to 50% of sponsorship and hospitality), as well as the reformation of the Évin Law (extension…