By Andrew Warshaw
February 17 – The international players union FIFPro have laid bare their objections to the current transfer system, revealing that compensation for clubs who develop young talent is woefully inadequate.
The union claims clubs received just 0.5 percent in training compensation from the record $4.2 billion transfer fees paid last year, amounting to 20.7 million euros.
Conversely, says FIFPro, agents reaped the benefits like never before, with their income rising by 15% in 2015 to a combined €228 million.
FIFPro says the figures – FIFA’s own statistics in the latest annual report by FIFA’s Transfer Matching System that tracks spending – proves that the introduction in 2001 of training compensation for clubs that develop young players in order to encourage spending on youth academies has not worked as effectively as it should.
The data was presented to Members of the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday to show how the transfer system is not effectively distributing revenue.
FIFPro, which represents 65,000 professional footballers worldwide, in September last year filed a complaint to the European Commission asking for the current transfer system to be radically altered. The union claims footballers do not enjoy the same rights as clubs to unilaterally end contracts. The European Commission is studying the complaint and has asked FIFA for its response.
“The transfer system is rewarding agents far more than football clubs that produce talent,” said FIFPro Secretary General Theo van Seggelen. “How can this be right? It’s critical the system is overhauled.”
The compensation is meant to make up 5% of the fee for players aged 12 to 23 but FIFPro claims some clubs are unaware they are even due money or do not have the resources to chase it.
The notion of footballers living millionaire lifestyles only applies to an elite few, it says, with only one percent of players getting a chance to earn a decent wage and the current system leaving thousands of players struggling to get paid on time.
Dario Simic, president of the Croatian players union, told MEPs club directors have total control over footballers in his country and consistently abuse their dominant position.
“It is not true that players are pre-determined to drive Mercedes cars and live in luxurious houses,” said Simic, a former player for Dinamo Zagreb, AC Milan and Internazionale. “Only 1% of players get a chance to play on a level that secures a decent wage. It happens too often that contracts between clubs and players turn out to be empty words on paper. It is true that FIFA rules say that players can leave after three months if they do not get paid but it is not easy to leave.”
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