[mkdf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”#f55549″ background_color=””]E[/mkdf_dropcaps]nglish soccer’s governing body, the Football Association (FA) has announced it will make 124 positions redundant in an effort to protect itself against a projected deficit of $538 million over the next four years.

The prediction came off the heals of the expected losses the FA is facing at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the job cut move will aim to save the organisation $134 million annually.

Within the 124 positions the FA is making redundant, 42 of those have been done by halting recruitment, with the remaining 82 having to be individuals removed from their positions.

FA chairman, Greg Clarke, said every area of the organisation’s activities will be impacted.

“All areas of the FA will be affected,” Clarke said.

“We need to save [$134 million] a year and we’ve got a [$538 million] potential hole to fill over the next four years,” he said.

FA CEO, Mark Bullingham, said the organisation will have to focus on regulating and serving English football, and supporting the men’s and women’s teams in their efforts to win major tournaments.

“That means we have set out in our proposals some difficult choices because we do not think we can afford to do all the things that we did before,” Bullingham said.

“We believe the impact of this crisis is to force us to focus more than ever on our key priorities.

“It might seem that football has weathered the storm by getting the top-flight men’s game playing again.

“However, unfortunately the past few months have impacted the FA severely and we have lost a significant amount of money that we can never recoup,” he said.

This decision comes after the PA news agency reported the FA would not take advantage of a loan from FIFA’s new COVID-19 relief plan that was announced last week.