Hearts of Oak forward, Abednego Tetteh has waded into the discussion on the proposed move by some Ghanaian clubs to stop paying signing-on fees to players.
In the proposed policy, clubs will stop paying the signing on-fees of players and then spread them on their monthly salary.
Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko is among the clubs that are ready to begin this new policy under new Chief Executive Officer Nana Yaw Amponsah.
It is believed the Phobians are set to adopt the new policy but according to the striker, he is not in support with the cancellation of the signing-on fees to players.
Reacting to the move, the former Bechem United striker said, “I have listened to commentaries flying around with the respect to the discussion of enticement fees to players. It seems the popular opinion holds that enticement fees given to players must be scrapped. Dominant stakeholder of this discussion is club owners and administrators. The beneficiary or otherwise which is the players are yet to speak. Their opinion is crucial to the discussion.
He continued that, “Of course, club owners and administrators parochially will push for the scrap. It is understandable from their perspective. They stand to gain a lot from it”
“However, I disagree on the scrap now. We cannot scrap this arrangement if necessary measures to cushion players and assurance of financial security for local players are not put in place”
“Our football economy is not stable and affluent like that of the developed countries. Our financial books are always not balanced and the majority of our clubs are individually owned. Our selfishness in leadership is legendary”
“Clubs deliberately refuse to pay players because they failed to beat a particular club. Clubs can starve players up to six months in salary arrears. In some strange cases, the clubs decide not to pay at all. Players are always at the mercies of club owners”
“If the chairman is in a happy mood, players are paid. In case he has issues with his wife at home and there is a defeat, forget! Salaries won’t be paid anytime soon. I can bet by my blood that from the past to the present, 90% of local players are owed. Our club chairmen run the football with their emotions. I have seen a club chairman refusing to pay for fuel to drive the bus back home because there was an away defeat” he emphasized.
“The enticement fee is a lump sum of money given to a player upfront. As the name is; it is largely to entice the player to sign for the club requesting his services. Most players use this money to pay rent, start a business, start a project and in some cases keep it in long investment. This arrangement has cushioned a lot of players from the usual “no money syndrome” often used by club owners. Players who suffer in these times are those who fail to plan. For example, if a club pays a minimum enticement fee of 15000 GHC, it can purchase a small taxi to run a business. The player can reap from that end, so in case his salary is not in, he can still have money to survive on”
Nonetheless, if the clubs push for a scrap of the enticement fee, they should be financially ready to pay promptly for players to smoothly survive.
He has therefore called on the Ghana Football Association to should bring out a legal directive to ensure that players are paid promptly and clubs punished or surcharged for failing.
He affirmed that the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG) must be on standby to assist players whose clubs fail to pay their monthly salaries and also hold workshops and seminars for players on investments and financial discipline.
He added, “The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Youth and Sports must also ensure that a bill is passed at Parliament to protect the welfare of players. Thus, making it a law with legal implications if clubs fail to pay their players promptly. The Government and the GFA must also propose a standard pay for players to avoid the abuse of discretionary powers by club administrators”
The former Okwahu United forward lamented that until the above legal regime is put in place, the enticement must not be scrapped and has indicated players may be vulnerable in the hands of club administrators should salaries be the only medium of survival for local players.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Sylvester Ntim
