How to manage a football club’s finances in ELDT

Knowing how to manage a football club’s finances is what separates a manager who stays competitive for several seasons from one who runs out of money in the first month. In ELDT, cash comes in from several sources and goes out every week, and there is one key moment: the Monday financial close. In this guide we explain where the money comes from, where it goes, and how to read the numbers so you are not caught out.

How to manage a football club’s finances: the Monday close

Every week, on Monday at 00:00 (Argentina time), each club has its financial close. That is when sponsors are paid and wages, upkeep and fixed costs are settled. It is the moment when the account moves the most.

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Other income and costs happen separately: gate receipts, TV money and result bonuses are paid after each match, and market buys and sales are credited when each auction ends.

In the Finance section you have Upcoming payments, with everything due to be paid and collected at the next close. Check it before any big spend.

Where the money comes from

Sponsors

Your stadium has three stands, Popular, Platea and VIP, and each can have its own weekly sponsor deal. VIP pays the most. If you have signed at least one, the stands without a deal still collect their share each week from a basic sponsor for your division, so signing one never leaves you worse off than not signing. If you have not signed any, you get that basic division sponsor once a month, at the close of the first week. We explain it in detail in how to get sponsors.

Gate receipts

In every home match you collect ticket money from the three sections. You set the price for each one. How many fans turn up depends on your supporters, the capacity of each stand, the price, stadium improvements and whether you have an active marketing campaign. A price that is too high empties the stands; too low fills them, but people spend less inside.

Concessions and merchandise

People who come to the pitch also spend on food and in the shop. What each spectator leaves behind depends on the level of your concessions and your shop. On every home match, this is paid separately from ticket income.

TV

Every official match, home or away, gives you TV income according to your division. Friendlies do not bring TV money.

Prizes

There are prizes for winning and drawing matches, and end-of-season prizes based on your position in the table and your progress in the cups. Promotion also brings a prize.

Player sales

When you sell on the market, you collect the auction price minus a 10% commission. We explain it in how to sell players.

Where the money goes

• Player wages: paid every week. A player’s wage rises with their OVR and depends on the division.
• Staff wages: each member of staff gets a fixed weekly wage, higher the better their level.
• Academy: the wages of the scouts and the youngsters.
• Stadium upkeep: the stands pay per seat, and money invested in improvements and the academy has a monthly upkeep cost.
• General costs: on the first week of each month, general costs, insurance, federation fees and pre-season costs are charged.
• Travel: when you play away, you pay for transport.
• Loan repayments, if you have taken one out.

Wealth tax

Keeping money sitting there unused comes at a cost. If your account goes over $50M, every Monday a progressive wealth tax is charged: the more you accumulate, the higher the percentage. In Finance you can see your exact rate. The way to pay less is not to leave cash idle: invest it in the squad, the stadium or the staff.

Going into the red

If your account drops below zero, the game gives you two ways out: a loan to get out of the red or an emergency sale, where players are sold at random for 40% of their value. While you are in the red, your team performs worse in matches. And if you go two weekly closes in the red in a row, you lose the club.

Most of the time, the red comes from making a big purchase without checking the upcoming payments. Auctions have no reserve: you can bid with all your free cash, and the wages still land on Monday.

The bank and the financial score

If you need to fund something, the bank shows your financial score, a rating from 0 to 100 that sums up the club’s health: liquidity, cash flow, wage bill, debt and payment history. A better score means better conditions. There are emergency loans, operating loans and infrastructure loans for stadium work. Borrowing always costs more than paying cash: that is the price of having the money early.

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Helpful habits

1. Check Upcoming payments before bidding hard on the market.
2. Work out what each player really costs you per week, not just the transfer fee.
3. Fill all three stands with sponsors.
4. Adjust ticket prices by watching how many people come.
5. Do not sit on too much cash: the wealth tax will eat into it.
6. Treat stadium work as an investment, with time built in to recover the cost. We cover that in how to expand the stadium.

You can find the full details in the finance help and a summary in stadium and finances.

Create your club and start managing the cash →