By Krzysztof Baranowski
April 24 – The crisis facing Polish top division football is deepening with Ekstraklasa club Polonia Warsaw on the brink of going out of business.
A license audit by the Polish Football Association, examining the criteria clubs need to meet to play in the top flight, found that while a number of clubs are missing the benchmarks, Polonia Warsaw is in a desperate position with players unpaid for a year.
The two-time national Polish champions (1946 and 2000) have been on a downward financial spiral for a number of years. Under the ownership of construction industry magnate Joseph Wojciechowski, the club agreed high and unsustainable salaries. A period of management instability lead to the club being sold in 2012 to Ireneusz Krol – the owner of the Ideon SA company.
Krol already owned GKS Katowice and wanted to move the team to Katowice. The fans protested and the club remained in Warsaw.
After a good first round in the league this season it became evident that Krol was not able to pay the Polonia Warsaw salaries in the contracts signed by Wojciechowski. Krol wanted to renegotiate but agreement could not be found with all the players. At the same time, club debt was becoming difficult to maintain and arrears payments for the rental of the stadium were increasing. Krol had other problems as well with the failure of his Ideon SA company.
In the winter transfer windows, the club sold many of its higher earning players but the squad was weakened. It has been reported that players have been unpaid for a year and do not have the money to buy food and pay bills. Fans have been organising post-match collections of gifts and money.
The audit by the Polish FA into licensing criteria found the following:
1) Infrastructural:
– Two clubs have not provided an agreement confirming the right to use their current stadiums for the season 2013/14.
– Three clubs do not have an agreement confirming they have access to training facilities for the season 2013/14
2) Youth teams:
– One club does not have a multi-level youth programme
– Eight clubs do not include the mandatory training components to their programmes or an anti-doping policy. These conditions are mandatory if a club is to hold a license.
3) Legal requirements:
– All clubs are still required to complete a mandatory composition of their ‘group’, including entities affiliated with the club.
4) Financial:
– One club has debts to football creditors that need to be paid to fulfill license criteria, otherwise the club will be issued with a penalty.
– One club is currently in bankruptcy proceedings. The club may, subject to compliance with other licensing requirements to be eligible to play in the league, but can not get a license to play in the European Cup.
– Five clubs need to confirm payment of all obligations protected by the licensing procedure up to March 31 this year. Clubs are required to provide full documentation including, contracts, payment receipts, letters of settlement.
– Six clubs need to report further on the Future of Financial Information (PIF) requirements, concerning the club’s financial ability to function until the end of the 2013/14 season. Failure to provide these financial projections may result in a refusal to issue a license to play in the European Cup, and in extreme cases the withholding of a license to play in the league.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1738737218labto1738737218ofdlr1738737218owedi1738737218sni@i1738737218kswon1738737218arab.1738737218fotzs1738737218yzrk1738737218. Krzysztof Baranowski is editor in chief of www.sportmarketing.pl