Compensation claims could cripple League clubs

[James]

from the Irish Independent

Compensation claims could cripple League clubs

EIRCOM League clubs are reeling from the realisation they could be hit with a FIFA-sanctioned multi-million euro compensation bill from Irish schoolboy clubs.

This follows the disclosure that Stella Maris are demanding at least €10,000 in compensation from Shamrock Rovers under FIFA rules following the transfer of Richie Byrne to Dunfermline earlier this summer.

And the Irish Independent has learned of many other schoolboy clubs awaiting responses from Eircom League clubs as they turn the heat up on an burning issue in domestic football.

Another case involving two Dublin clubs has been dragged through a lengthy FAI-sanctioned arbitration process for almost three years. The Eircom League club involved has defended itself in an affidavit by stating they are only bound by FAI rules - and no such compensation rule currently exists on the FAI statutes.

But now the FAI, under pressure from UEFA and FIFA, have promised to amend the culture of secrecy and ignorance which has shrouded the Eircom League's dealings with schoolboy clubs in recent years by speeding up a resolution to the crisis.

This means chief executive Fran Rooney is destined to become involved in another internecine struggle between factions of the association, as the game here belatedly addresses the issue of solidarity payments to schoolboy clubs.

Rooney has been aware of the potential problems caused by the historical unwillingness of Eircom League clubs to deal fairly with their schoolboy counterparts.

And with Eircom League clubs unable to obtain a UEFA Licence unless they clear all their debts, the impatience of the schoolboy clubs at the League's perennial foot-dragging may come at a hefty price.

Adding to the schoolboy game's ire is the reported loans of €300,000 per club which have been mooted for those struggling to fulfil the terms of the UEFA licence.

"If Eircom League clubs think they are going to get more money to pour down the drain, then they can forget it," said one angry schoolboy official.

"That money is ours and it's about time we were recognised instead of being ignored."

It's estimated that over two thirds of all players in the eircom League came through the schoolboy conveyor belt system.

If the clubs must adhere to the fIFA rules which require senior clubs to pay for the training and development of young players signed from schoolboy clubs, the prognosis for eircom League clubs is horrific.

In theory, they could all be pushed to the brink of financial ruin.

Rooney had informal contacts with schoolboy officials this week and has instructed the Eircom League to deal with the issue urgently.

"The FAI are generally supportive of investment in Irish football and any monies which are accrued by clubs should be re-invested in the game," said an FAI spokesman.

"Currently, we are developing a system through our technical department whereby the elite footballers of school-going age will be provided with a structure whereby they can remain in this country.

"In the future, that would be our blueprint.

"A three-pronged arrangement with the Eircom League and the schoolboys for the benefit of all three strands should a player eventually leave a country for vast amounts of money."

The FAI would not comment specifically on an individual case but Rooney is aware the schoolboy sector is critical to the future direction of his stewardship of the association.

Eircom League chairman Brendan Dillon says the issue is being addressed and it's hoped to have concrete proposals at their next management meeting later this month.

"It is fair to say that this is an issue which has been dormant for some years now but in fairness to the clubs, FIFA have spent their time clarifying their own rules on the issue," said Dillon.

"Eoin Hand, the FAI's careers guidance officer, has already held a workshop with the clubs on the issue and we would be hoping to be in a position to present a proposal to the schoolboys within weeks.

"In fairness, it isn't something we could have discussed with the schoolboy sector until there was a mandate from the clubs."

From informal contacts held with schoolboy representatives, Dillon believes their aim was to receive recognition and respect, rather than bleed dry Eircom League clubs who are already financially crippled.

FIFA have indicated they will sanction any agreement which a jurisdiction implements, on the understanding that it will remain a binding statute in the governing body's legislation. However, those representing schoolboy football may be reluctant to compromise given the "lack of respect" shown towards them over the years on this issue.

Knowing that UEFA Club Licenses cannot be handed out until this issue is sorted out, the schoolboy affiliates have manoeuvred themselves into a position where they have the upper hand.

After years of sweeping this issue under the carpet, the Eircom League, and their FAI overlords, will have to demonstrate a degree of subtlety and intricacy in devising a solution satisfactory to all parties.

Failure to act with haste could have serious repercussions for the sport.

[James]

from Irish Independent again

Crisis of compensation claims won't go away quietly

ONE of the amusing sidelines to the current debate about the country's maladroit transport system are the similarities with the often reckless supervision of the FAI.

Just as one could have predicted Seamus Brennan's admittance that the LUAS development had become a mess, even the most amateur of soothsayers might have reliably informed Merrion Square when the latest volcanic eruption would strike.

And, like an interminably unbelievable soap opera, the latest saga will hit the core of an association which purports to "care about football" but does nothing else but quarrel and bicker in its name.

For the FAI's CEO Fran Rooney, any harbinger of professionalism and modernism in Merrion Square was always going to be let down by one of three things - his enemies, his friends or, more predictably, the Eircom League.

Last week's revelations that the League may be inundated with multi-million euro claims from schoolboy clubs throughout the land threatens to collapse an edifice which can barely stand still.

The wobbling League may combust should the schoolboys cash play their card and claim for compensation for the players who have turned professional with senior clubs since September 1, 2001.

On that date, European Union legislation came into law which protected the right of schoolboy clubs across Europe.

It was a signal for senior clubs here to gather the wagons and ensure they weren't vulnerable to being scalped as FIFA's edict, in the small print, urged National Associations to fix compensation rates for internal transfers. Typical of the Eircom League, they sat on their backsides as if nothing had changed and allowed the time bomb to tick.

The new structures mean that schoolboys clubs are, in theory, entitled to compensation of up to €10,000 for every year of service for a player who has signed pro' forms with a League club since September 2001.

Outnumbered at the FAI's top table, the schoolboys have patiently waited for the signal to release the cannons.

Last week they went boom in a spectacular way as Stella Maris publicised their grievance with Shamrock Rovers following the transfer of their former player Richie Byrne to Dunfermline, for €70,000.

The Dublin schoolboy outfit cried foul as they demanded compensation from Rovers for fees due for grooming Byrne through the under-age ranks - he also had two seasons at Belvedere.

In addition, Stella and Belvedere, are entitled to five per cent 'compo' of the £70,000 transfer fee from the Parrs for developing Byrne under a separate UEFA edict.

It won't stop there. Another case I have been informed of relates to a dispute between a prominent Eircom League club and a Dublin schoolboy team.

It has remained in FAI arbitration for over three years, stifled by bureaucratic niceties and a muffled disregard for the principles on which the sport was founded.

The schoolboy club in question, like many others contacted, maintain that money is not the key issue. All they want is respect instead of lip service.

If the schoolboy clubs could confidently expect fair compensation a) for grooming players for Eircom League service, or b) for a life in the pro ranks in England or beyond, then the soccer world here would be a happier place.

Realistically, the schoolboys are flexing their muscles to make a political point, coincidentally as their Genesis-inspired influence seems set to accord them a more proportionate influence within the FAI than before.

They know that Eircom League clubs can't receive UEFA licences while debts overhang their operations. And they will ensure that not one more euro in grant aide will be handed over to a senior club from the FAI until this problem is resolved. Quite simply, they have the EL by the short and curlies.

This is a real crisis, one which if addressed properly could transform the direction of the game in this country. Where players remain tethered to a developmental process which benefits all - the schoolboys, the Eircom League and the FAI.

Yet one wonders if the FAI have the vision to do so. Clogged by internecine strife, where sworn enemies join forces to vote against Genesis just to make a political point.

Nobody cares about the endless parade of suits carting their tedious circus of AGMs and EGMs from hotel to hotel around the city.

Like the LUAS, they have always been a mess.

[pete]

Originally posted by James
EIRCOM League clubs are reeling from the realisation they could be hit with a FIFA-sanctioned multi-million euro compensation bill from Irish schoolboy clubs.

Where does the Indo get this rubbish?

I never heard of the 10k per season rubbish. 5% or whatever of the transfer fee does on the otherhand seem like a fair enough renumeration for the junior club. If an 18 year old had spent 10 years at a schoolboy club by that logic they;d be looking for 100k which would mean eL clubs would not sign any of those players.

Are the junior clubs also demanding these fees from foreign clubs when their players move on there?

[parnell ranger]

THE 10,000 euro per year rule does exist just has never been pursued by a schoolboy club to date against an eircom league side.
Yes the rule has been implemented against foreign clubs mainly english/scottish clubs who are still getting our kids on the cheap but who still acknowledge the effort and work put in by the schoolboy clubs.
one particular schoolboy was transferred 3 times to date within the E.L.yet the schoolboy club who groomed him for 8 years recieved none of the 100,000 euro grossed by his sale.
Hardly a bridge building exersize by the E.L. club who benefitted.
I doubt if theres a schoolboy club in ireland would deliberately pursue an eircom club to the point of jeopardising that clubs financial position or pursuit of a license.
My own club are delighted to see our players go on and play E.L. football but would also be unhappy if any club benefitted financially without throwin a few quid our way as an acknowledgement of the work we put in.

[pete]

Originally posted by parnell ranger
My own club are delighted to see our players go on and play E.L. football but would also be unhappy if any club benefitted financially without throwin a few quid our way as an acknowledgement of the work we put in.

I'm saying giving percentage of sell on fee to the junior club is fair but 10k per year for players moving onto the eL is completely unrealistic.