Pro-League footballers lament poor salaries.
By Sean Nero (Guardian).
Footballers in the T&T Pro-League yesterday complained bitterly over the paltry pay packets they receive from their clubs. They quoted the sum of $3,500 and said investing for their future was not as easy as many will like to believe.
Much of the money earned, they said, was used to reinvest in their personal development and that their involvement in the sport hinged on their passion with the ultimate goal of being signed to a leading international club.
The athletes shared their frustrations at a financial advisory seminar hosted by majority owned state-owned bank First Citizens and the TT Pro-League with the theme Financial Planning, Investment and Savings held at Digicel IMAX at One Woodbrook Place, St James.
In a unified voice they told FC investment and financial planners of their difficulty at saving and questioned whether it was even possible to do so considering that club contracts were also short term.
In an immediate response Dexter Skeene, president of the TT Pro-League said the issue of boosting salaries was not within the League’s ambit, citing that the outfit served only as the administrator of professional football.
Professional football, he said, was a business which made each club a business entity.
“The clubs are each responsible for being profitable for the remuneration of each of their players and that is on a one-on-one basis. There has to be a paradigm shift in terms of the mentality and the way we see things. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
“We need to understand that–the players, as well as the coaches and the owners–they are the owners of their business. The better they do, their businesses becomes more successful. Once we begin to look at things in this way people would see the need to raise the performance level at all ends and ensure that people come out at the end of the day to support,” said Skeene.
“More support would mean more revenue at the gates and more gate (receipts) would mean further revenue in terms of the television (rights) the whole marketing of it and the merchandising and all of the add on effects when you look at the revenue streams that comes from professional football and successfully run professional football leagues. Once we begin to understand the mechanics of a successful, and a profitable, and a viable professional football league, things would get easier.
“It’s a young League still and there will be teething pains like any other industry or any other business that is now developing. All of this is part of the growth and development. We are very hopeful and are optimistic that as we continue and have more sessions like these and people begin to understand more about the business side of it, things will start to pick up and the salaries will improve as we go along.”
Krystal Attim-Philip, loans supervisor/marketing at First Citizens underscored the need for the bank to deliver presentations of this type with greater frequency citing that players are focused solely on being signed internationally and ultimately securing hefty pay cheques.
“But that may not be the reality. A lot of them are thinking that something would happen in the future and they would be set for life. This may be so for some. What they need to take into consideration is what if that doesn’t happen. That is why we came in here today, to speak to them and at least prepare for the unexpected. What happens in the event that you do not get a contract?
Something happens to you physically? What do you do in a situation like that? What do you do after the Pro League? Are you prepared for retirement? Do you have funds put aside? Do you want to live comfortably? Every year we sponsor them (Pro League) and we don’t want that these players living hand-to-mouth at the end of their TT Pro League life. We want them to have something to look forward too! …A comfortable retirement!” she said.
“Yes! A lot of them are playing football for the love and the passion, but they need to find a balance between loving the sport, doing the sport and living comfortably. One of the players commented that a lot of them were well educated and they are doing it for the love and the passion. They seem passionate about the sport, but they need to transfer that passion to their lives.
“We have started these seminars in order to make them more aware. It is not a one off thing because from everything we said today, not everything would stay. Certain things will stand out to certain people and they will carry that forward. They will try, but if it’s not reinforced they will lose focus.”
