It is with a sword of Damocles above the head that Fleury Loiret Handball begins its season, this Friday, September 2 against Lille metropolis. That of the financial situation of the club, particularly worrying. If last July the French handball federation gave the go-ahead to Fleury’s commitment to the second division by validating its budget for this season, the federal authorities are still waiting for answers, for the clearance of a heavy financial liability. A decision postponed until next October, because the national commission of control and management of the handball federation is itself in the grip of internal difficulties.
A liability of 400,000 euros
The financial hole of the Fleuryssois club is abysmal. It totals more than 400,000 euros in liabilities over the year of last season. To which is added a PGE, a loan guaranteed by the State, of 200,000 euros to deal with the absence of competitions during the Covid 19 epidemic. Certain guarantees have been provided by local authorities, the Center Val de Loire region, for example, has undertaken to pay an exceptional subsidy of 35,000 euros. But the handball federation is still waiting for assurances from the club and its president Sabine Guillien. This is the condition for granting Fleury Loiret Handball a plan to clear its accounts, to get out of this crisis.
A financial emergency that needs to be addressed
At stake is the maintenance of the club in the professional world. For Philippe Bana, the president of the French handball federation, the green light granted to start the season therefore requires clarification by October. “So far there is an authorization to start the season. We will have to look at the CNCG session in October, with the shareholders, the club, what the financial arrangements are, and if the promises have been kept. If the club has managed to rebuild its financial strength, we are on the ground with the club, but there is indeed a financial emergency that must be addressed.”.