Dutch local authorities have invested €300m in football over the past five years through indirect subsidies, Nos tv reports on Thursday.

The investments are often made via sale and lease back constructions for stadiums and trainings pitches to avoid breaking the law on state support, Nos said. Some councils give loan guarantees or sponsor shirts.
Earlier Nos claimed very few of the local authorities actually monitor their club’s financial affairs, by requesting quarterly reports or a seat on the board.

Meeting
On Wednesday night, representatives of 23 of the 33 Dutch towns and cities which are home to at least one professional football club held a meeting to discuss common strategy to deal with the financial problems facing the game.
The KNVB football association expects a number of clubs to go bankrupt this year. In June, the association published a report saying just six of the 37 professional football clubs in the
Netherlands are in good financial shape.