As the novel coronavirus (Corona 19), which first occurred in Korea in January 2020, entered the era of endemic (converted to an endemic disease), the professional sports world, which had suffered from many restrictions, was in the past, a daily viewing culture trying to get back to
The hard work is definitely the frontline staff (front desk) of each professional sports team. Those who play the role of ‘shadow’ in the field did not hesitate to share the pain, such as returning wages by crying and eating mustard during Corona 19.
Compared to major European professional league clubs, which reduced the number of employees due to loss of admission tickets, sponsorship income, and club product revenue due to a decrease in the number of games, it was better than that. It was all the more appreciated in the still deformed structure where the wages of the players account for 50-70% of the total club operating expenses.
In the case of professional football, corporate clubs Ulsan Hyundai and Busan I-Park returned part of their wages, and civil club Suwon FC also returned them by donating to Suwon City, its hometown. Higher organizations such as the Korea Football Association and the Korea Professional Football Federation also participated. In the case of the professional league, it is known that the return was compensated as a bonus.
▲ The FC Seoul-Daegu FC match where the power of singer Lim Young-woong was realized ⓒ Korea Professional Football Federation
▲ The FC Seoul-Daegu FC match where the power of singer Lim Young-woong was realized ⓒ Korea Professional Football Federation
At the time, in the eyes of the club return standard, public criticism poured out when a plan to use it for team operating expenses through partial return of wages came out. What is the meaning of using a small amount of money for a team that earns a salary that sounds like ‘billion’? There was also a question mark as to whether it was passing the pain on to employees without a labor union.
Now, three years later, professional football is in a booming period. Looking at the numbers alone, a rosy era has arrived. By the 12th round, the total number of spectators was 731,297 with an average of 10,157. This is the first time that the average number of spectators has exceeded 10,000 based on paid spectators in the 12 club system.
In 2019, before Corona, the total number of spectators was 1,827,061, and the average spectator was 8,013. If the current level is maintained until the end of the season, it is possible to achieve the dream of reaching 2 million spectators alone in the K League 1 for the first time in history. It is more so in that it shows a different appearance compared to the flow of previous years, when the number of spectators plummeted after 30% of the season. There is no need to combine K-League 2 and total spectators.메이저놀이터
In the case of Daejeon Hana Citizen, the average number of spectators was 2,271 and 45,411 out of 20 total spectators in K-League 2 last year. This year, 81,557 in 6 games and 13,593 per game are enjoying the promotion effect. Gwangju FC also had an average of 1,308 with 26,154 in 20 games, but this year it increased nearly fourfold to 24,096 in 6 games and an average of 4,016. FC Seoul, which had the effect of visiting singer Lim Young-woong, gathered 45,007 people, the most in all professional sports since Corona 19, only against Daegu FC.
However, if the staff make unconditional sacrifices in the field, it is useless to achieve 2 million spectators. As of February 2019, the number of K-League club secretariat employees and the number of employees as of February this year are similar or only slightly increased. This is true when looking at the number of employees excluding high-ranking positions such as CEO, general manager, secretary general, and general manager based on the registration standard of the Professional Football Federation.