March 6, 2002
Soccer players draft new contracts for a summer season
By Bill George
THE PROFESSIONAL Footballers Association of Ireland are drafting contracts for National League players to cope with the growing demands on them and imminent changes in the season.
The move to summer soccer will impact hugely on the lifestyle of Irish footballers who are familiar with a season September to May. Understandably, they are not pleased decisions on length of the season were taken without consultation with their representative body.
PFAI president Fran Gavin chaired a meeting this week of the 21 clubs in the League who were divided.
Said Mr Gavin: “Those who voted in favour of the changes did so on the basis that our concerns and the potential problems will be solved before the new season kicks off. We have asked for a meeting with the management committee of the League as soon as possible”.
He said players were not opposed to summer football per se and “believe it is a good idea from many points of view, principally because it will mean that players will be training in good conditions and not in foul weather conditions under street lights”.
The new set-up envisages the current season ending in March and a new season beginning in July. Specific start and end dates have not been established but the plan is to have a new summer season in place by 2003.
Said Mr Gavin: “Players contracts do not normally have a specific finishing date, rather do they specify until the end of the season. That is the sort of problem we need to have clarified because ‘end of season’ on players’ contracts usually means April.
“Part-time contracts for many players mean that players are paid only until the end of the season - does that mean some players will lose eight weeks wages this season?”
Another issue is when players can take the traditional Summer holidays. “If players are tied to contracts how does that impact upon the holidays they take from their everyday jobs? Are they going to have to take their family holidays in winter time and how do players with families and children at school cope with that?”
The broader issue revolves around the wording of the standard contract document and Mr. Gavin commented: “We have a solicitor working on the draft of a new contract. We are studying contract documents from other countries, from Australia where there are a lot of part-time players and the Scandinavian countries and Scotland.
“Our draft will include the best features of their documents and it is important we address this and the other matters before the end of the season.”
He expressed confidence that agreement with the National League will be reached quickly. “The last thing we want is to create problems” he said, “but we must address these issues before the new season.
“The players were asked to help the clubs by deferring wages for the eight weeks of the foot and mouth break last season and they readily agreed because we knew the clubs had difficulties and we all want to see our clubs solvent. But it is pay-back time now and clubs need to sit down with us and discuss our problems.”
