07 December 2014
The Western Sydney Wanderers players deserve more than 10% of the money on offer from participation in the FIFA Club World Cup
No sooner does a baby club achieve stunning success both domestically and internationally, than we return to the bad old days of football administration with a pay dispute.
The good part is that at least the Western Sydney Wanderers players are getting paid. There’s hardly anyone involved in football pre-2001 (and some since) who is unfamiliar with not being paid.
But although we’ve moved on from there (mostly), the Wanderers players are now wanting a fair share for their efforts in getting the club onto the biggest stage possible for a club team.
According to this report from Dom Bossi in the SMH, the players were willing to negotiate down from the 50-50 precedent set by Adelaide United in 2008, but Western Sydney Wanderers CEO John Tstatismas is sticking doggedly to 10% or $100,000 of the $1m appearance fee. Because of tax rules on prize money, that would end-up being around $2,500 per player net.
These are players who have not had an off-season. They have had to stay match-fit because of their Asian Champions League commitments. And while the number of games they’ve had to play has not been extraordinary in terms of the top leagues of Europe, it is for the A-League and even more so considering the travel and the time zones crossed.
The reason offered that club management wants to put some of the prize money towards their new development in Blacktown is not acceptable. Not only was that development approved – and, therefore, costed and funded - long before it was known that the team would win the Asian Champions League or qualify for the Club World Cup, but this is a club that was built on the back of a $5 million grant from the taxpayers. That’s money well spent when a club such as the Wanderers contributes so significantly to the community, but it doesn’t mean that the players are obliged to contribute financially to the long-term plans of the club; and certainly not without it having been negotiated with them in the first instance.
The Western Sydney Wanderers were instrumental in breathing life into the A-League in 2012. They have exceeded all expectations.
This pay dispute doesn’t reflect poorly on the players. They should be rewarded appropriately for their commitment, their skills and their hard work.
The players have already held out an olive branch on a 50-50 split. The club is dragging football administration backwards, and embarrassing themselves and the A-League with an offer of 10%.
Fix it.