Why Should Countries Pay Clubs For Players On International Duty

Meddling FIFA president Sepp Blatter is intent on leaving a lasting legacy to the wonderful world of football regardless of the effect it will have on the game. This time he has paved the way for the richest clubs in football to get richer still, through payments for their player who are on international duty.

The threat of legal action from the G14 clubs which include Manchester United, Liverpool & Arsenal, appears to have forced the hand of the top man in Football. The clubs were seeking compensation for players injured on international duty, however Blatter has given them a letter if intent which has satisfied them, causing them to withdraw their legal action and disband the group. UEFA will be happy to see the group gone as they had threatened to set up a break away European league.

Countries Could Go Bankrupt Or Competitions Could Disappear!

The details of the payments have yet to be announced, but the intent to pay does beg many questions. Currently the players get a match fee for playing for their country, in tournaments there are other bonuses and incentives for playing. Will these payments be diverted to the Clubs instead of the players? Or will there be a further financial burden on the countries coffers? A burden that could see the end of fantastic tournaments like the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships, or possibly the end of some glorious nations participation in the competitions because they could not afford the payments required to the clubs. How will the poorer African nations be able to compensate cash rich Chelsea for their highly valuable super stars like Drogba and Essien?

Why Should Clubs Be Compensated? Players Made Famous From International Competitions Make Them Millions!

Currently the International tournaments take place during the holiday/close season, with the exception of the African Cup of Nations, which could and should be rescheduled to suit considering the majority of players are playing their game in Europe. So what exactly are the clubs being compensated for? Being denied the ability to take that player on a tour of Asia or America? Surely the player is representing their club in some of the most watched competitions on the planet, if those players play well or win medals their value is raised, meaning the club can charge more for sponsors and branding. Just look at the new partnership between Manchester United and Kumho Tyres, where the Koreans will have paid a fortune to Manchester United so they can use effective sales tools like Wayne Rooney’s name in radio advertising. Their value is also raised on the transfer market, some clubs have been funded and built on the cash from selling a player who did well at a world cup. Damian Duff was sold to Chelsea for a fortune after his displays for the Republic of Ireland in 2002, Bayern Munich made a huge profit on Owen Hargreaves after he shone in the World Cup in 2006, is that not compensation enough for these teams?

Who Will Compensate The Countries If The Stars Are Unavailable For Tournaments?

Has a player ever had their career ended by an injury caused purely in an international tournament? Granted there have been a few long term injuries where clubs have had to pay huge wages during the recovery period, but who negotiated the contract with the players? Who agreed to pay them full pay during their sickness? More importantly if an international star is injured playing for their club and cannot play for their country will the clubs compensate the countries? If Cristiano Ronaldo is injured for the Euro 2008, could Portugal sue Manchester United for inhibiting their chances of winning the competition, reducing their potential revenues from sponsors? If so Wales could have a case against Manchester United as Ryan Giggs nearly always seemed to have a niggle when it came to international time.

It’s Time Players Took Responsibility, Instead Of Just Taking The Money

In the modern game that is awash with money, with players commanding incredible salaries in some cases in excess of £120k a week, plus endorsements. The responsibility must be with the players, they should insure themselves to compensate their clubs for injuries caused fulfilling their international duty. If not the clubs should continue to work with the risk and reward system that is currently in place, they take the risk of the player getting injured, but they also reap the rewards of the influx of cash from merchandise, sponsorship and transfer fees as a result of their player participation.

The European qualifying groups for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group One
Albania
Denmark
Hungary
Malta
Portugal
Sweden

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Two
Greece
Israel
Latvia
Luxembourg
Moldova
Switzerland

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Three
Czech Republic
Northern Ireland
Poland
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Four
Azerbaijan
Finland
Germany
Liechtenstein
Russia
Wales

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Five
Armenia
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Estonia
Spain
Turkey

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Six
Andorra
Belarus
Croatia
England
Kazakhstan
Ukraine

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Seven
Austria
Faroe Islands
France
Lithuania
Romania
Serbia

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Eight
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Georgia
Italy
Montenegro
Republic Of Ireland

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – European Qualifying Group Nine
FYR Macedonia
Holland
Iceland
Norway
Scotland

Steve McClaren’s short reign as manager ended when the FA board unanimously decided that the crushing defeat to Croatia at Wembley in the Euro 2008 qualifier would be his last game in charge.

The axe also fell on Terry Venables who will now be free to take up the offer of a position as manager of the Republic of Ireland. McClaren will be in the record books for all the wrong reasons, his tenure is the shortest so far, and in percentage terms he also lost more games than any other manager.

Resignation v Pay-day

Fans & pundits alike expected McClaren to fall on his sword, and resign but as usual in modern football the manager held out for his pay-off. Just 15 months since the proudest day of McClaren’s managerial career came the worst when his reign was labelled an ‘embarrassment’ by Geoff Thompson. Brian Barwick felt obliged to ‘apologise to the fans personally’.

New Manager Selection

There will be another protracted selection process before a successor is appointed and a few of the early favourites have stated they do not wish to be considered for the position, probably because their situations have changed since they were unsuccessful in their previous application.

World Cup 2010 South Africa Qualification Draw

England will discover who their opponents will be in the 2010 World cup qualifiers on Sunday but they will be pitted against some of Europe’s finest as failure to qualify for Euro 2008 will put them in the second pot.