Chronicle EditorZURICH. – Far from the image of owning fast cars and living in mansions, footballers around the world face low wages, delayed payments, bullying and intimidation, according to a survey published yesterday.Sixty percent of the nearly 14 000 players interviewed in 54 countries earned less than $2 000 a month and four in 10 had experienced late payment at some stage in the last two years, the survey conducted by the world players’ union FIFPro said.
“Our frustration is that nobody is willing to believe that clubs do not respect contracts and don’t pay the players,” said FIFPro general secretary Theo van Seggelen.
“Not every footballer has three cars in different colours. The reality of our football industry is completely different from what most of the fans think,” he added. FIFPro said the survey, produced in conjunction with the University of Manchester, covered countries in Europe, North and South America and Africa.
Unions from several key countries, including England and Spain which boast two of the world’s richest leagues, did not return completed surveys. However, this was offset by the number of developing countries which were also excluded, FIFPro said.
On wages, the survey said that only 40.3 percent earned more than $2 000 per month. Of the rest, 14.5 percent earned between $1 000 and $2 000, 24.6 percent earned between $300 and $1 000 and 20.6 percent earned $300 or less. Forty-one percent said they had experienced delays in being paid, a figure which rose to 79 percent in Malta, 75 percent in Turkey, 74 percent in Romania, and 96 percent in Gabon, 95 percent in Bolivia and 94 percent in Tunisia. – Reuters.
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