COVID-19 threatens football outside of Europe

Koffi Gueli plays for Gobhloe-su des Lacs in the Togolese Championnat National, Togo's top division.

The 26-year-old forward's season has been interrupted but unlike Lionel Messi or Marco Reus the lack of football has had an immediate impact on his finances. "For this month, we have not been paid yet," he tells DW. "But they made a promise that it's going to happen very soon."

Gueli and his teammates had just begun a break in the 2019-20 season when the pandemic reared its head. He was supposed to be competing with Togo in the now-postponed African Nations Championship throughout April, before returning to his club side to complete the current campaign. It's unclear whether the few remaining games will ever be played.

"We know that inevitably there will be difficult situations for the league," Gueli says. "The directors will have to sit down, speak with one voice, understand the situation and come up with a plan B so that this championship can resume if they really want it to, or else start a new season."

That kind of clarity is vital to players, some of whom are already struggling. Steven Lavon, the editor-in-chief of Africa Top Sports, says many simply cannot wait until the crisis ends. "There are footballers who are pulling the devil by the tail, who have no money… Some players who know us reporters come and ask 'Brother, can you find me something?' And we do it out of friendship."

Extreme solutions in South America

Desperate times have already led to desperate measures in South America, leading to no small measure of controversy. In Colombia, where the season has been on hold since mid-March, several top-flight clubs are facing a backlash over their attempts to slash their bills, at the cost of their own players and staff.

Local reports say that top flight club Alianza Petrolera put all of its employees on leave, while another club is in trouble for suspending 13 player contracts without meeting them face-to-face to discuss it. Fellow top-flight side Independiente Santa Fe received a rebuke from the mayor of the capital Bogota after they suspended the contracts of their female players, but not the men's team.

In Brazil, even though top-division football isn't due to start until early May, state championships were stopped in their tracks after players protested against being forced to compete. The stars of southern club Gremio made their feelings clear when they took to the pitch wearing face masks. After briefly attempting to continue playing games without spectators, authorities finally suspended the season.

"For those that were already struggling, if this continues much longer, the damage will be immeasurable," Brazilian commentator Luciana Zogaib tells DW.

Reliance on money men

In places where football is reliant on individual investors, damage to businesses threatens the existence of clubs too.

In the Philippines, football is already in a fragile state. Long before the pandemic took hold, various clubs were closed down, but the lack of development in the game at club level may actually soften the blow.

"It's different here compared to, say, the UK, where the funding is dependent on TV revenue and ticket sales," winger James Younghusband, who has over 100 caps for the Philippines, explains. "With the current structure, I think players are relaxed."

In a league that doesn't yet have a broadcasting deal in place, people who finance clubs do so to support the game, not to make money.

"A lot of the clubs here are funded by people who are passionate about the game, and they don't expect anything in return," says Cedelf Tupas, a reporter with the Philippine Daily Inquirer. "It's all about prestige and pride here."

Football doing its bit

That passion may be what saves football in the Philippines and many other countries. All over the world, people involved in the game are showing football can do good in times of great need.

"Players are helping out with video messages, donations to people whose incomes are on pause, and purchases of food for staff and frontline workers," said Younghusband.

In Colombia, Atletico Nacional and Independiente Medellin, usually the fiercest of city rivals, have joined forces to raise money for people who usually make a living on matchdays.

Meanwhile, back in Togo, a picture of Koffi Gueli is being used to advise people how to avoid catching coronavirus as the striker asks people to follow recommendations because, as the words on the picture of Gueli state, "we want to meet again to continue what COVID-19 has interrupted."

Life after coronavirus remains beyond the grasp of much of the world at the moment, and yet while many footballers suddenly find themselves in extreme circumstances, the game's optimism remains unshakeable.