Out of Contract and Unemployed
Credit:
Out of contract at the end of the season and being unemployed is the prospect that a lot of Airtricity
soccer players will be facing come the end of the season.
This time, 3 years ago, from a full-time professional employment perspective, the league here in Ireland seemed to be, financially, in a good state. You had Drogheda United, St.Pats, Cork City, Derry City, Sligo Rovers and Galway United in a full-time professional set-up. If you were out of contract, chances are, you would find another club without too much hassle.
Most full-time clubs also paid out wages 52 weeks of the year like any other kind of full-time employment .So if you had a mortgage, family or other bills, you had the benefit of knowing that you had a wage coming in the off-season and say during Christmas time when you would need it most.
Times were good, and some players benefited fruitfully from the finances that several clubs were offering. However, hand in hand with the recession that crippled so many businesses’ here in Ireland, League of Ireland football clubs found that those finances to pay players such wages were becoming scarce.
As the last few years have gone by, clubs have fallen down by the wayside due to the financial demands of running a full-time and in some cases, a part-time club here in Ireland. With that, wages dropped significantly for both the full-time pro and the part-time pro. In most cases, 52 weeks of the year with pay has been dropped to 42-46 weeks of the year also.
It was and is the only way clubs were and are going to survive financially. However, out of contract players searching for employment within the football leagues here in Ireland are now finding it harder than ever.
At the moment, there are officially three full-time clubs here in Ireland, Bohemians, Sligo Rovers and Sporting Fingal. Unofficially, Shamrock Rovers might also be added to that group.
With widespread talk earlier in the season of Bohemians unhealthy financial situation, the future full-time sustainability within the league of any capacity has to be questioned. However, I don’t want to veer too much off what my main issue is here.
As a member of the P.F.A.I, my main concern is with the players at the moment. My concern lies in the fact that come the 1st November, there will be a lot of players out of contract, myself included.
Some players will be at the end of their current part-time contracts and will find it hard to get by without that form of salary for the cash demanding off-season.
Others who will feel the effects moreso will be those coming out of full-time contracts and therefore face the prospect of no wage for up to two and a half months until clubs return for pre- season training around mid-January.
The fact of the matter as far as I am aware is that clubs used to be able to sign players on pre- contracts or as soon as the current season in question was finished and subsequently, start paying them as soon as possible, and in most circumstances, that included the off-season. I am certainly not saying pre-contracts or anything of that sort are unheard of still but I am simply talking about the majority.
In today’s climate, however, clubs are putting on their business heads and are waiting until January when the pre-season starts again to do their business in terms of signing the majority of their players. This leaves players in an unpleasant position, especially if you rely on full-time football to pay the bills.
This is one of the main reasons why I keep harping on about college and education. It is imperative to have something else in your locker besides football because we, as players, live in such a volatile football environment here in Ireland where year after year, clubs fail to balance their finances to a sufficient manner.
I did an interview for a daily newspaper last week that was printed on the Thursday. During it, I was asked if I had any plans on what I am going to do next season as I am out of contract at Sporting Fingal. Unfortunately, the reporter failed to efficiently grasp my response. Understandably, I cannot give an answer to that question as my future is not sorted out yet but hopefully will be in the near future.
Having finished my Business Degree and my Finance Masters recently, I am perhaps fortunate in that respect as that gives me a different option from my football options. Again, I will echo what I said before, football, especially in the current climate, does not last forever!!
Nevertheless, I am not looking to use my education just yet as I wish to remain in football professionally so it is therefore good to have options, in both a full-time and part-time capacity. I will leave having prepared for the situation that I face and wil be sure to leave myself with options, both domestically and abroad.
I hope that all players who are out of contract at the end of the year will be preparing for the situation they may be left in at the end of the season with clubs unable to pay them in the off-season. I hope also that they will have given themselves options to do something for at least the two and a half months that they face out of football.
To finish on perhaps a happier tone, three of the lads on my team recently became fathers for the first time, Shaun Maher, Alan Kirby and Conan Byrne. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all three and also wish them the very best.
This time, 3 years ago, from a full-time professional employment perspective, the league here in Ireland seemed to be, financially, in a good state. You had Drogheda United, St.Pats, Cork City, Derry City, Sligo Rovers and Galway United in a full-time professional set-up. If you were out of contract, chances are, you would find another club without too much hassle.
Most full-time clubs also paid out wages 52 weeks of the year like any other kind of full-time employment .So if you had a mortgage, family or other bills, you had the benefit of knowing that you had a wage coming in the off-season and say during Christmas time when you would need it most.
Times were good, and some players benefited fruitfully from the finances that several clubs were offering. However, hand in hand with the recession that crippled so many businesses’ here in Ireland, League of Ireland football clubs found that those finances to pay players such wages were becoming scarce.
As the last few years have gone by, clubs have fallen down by the wayside due to the financial demands of running a full-time and in some cases, a part-time club here in Ireland. With that, wages dropped significantly for both the full-time pro and the part-time pro. In most cases, 52 weeks of the year with pay has been dropped to 42-46 weeks of the year also.
It was and is the only way clubs were and are going to survive financially. However, out of contract players searching for employment within the football leagues here in Ireland are now finding it harder than ever.
At the moment, there are officially three full-time clubs here in Ireland, Bohemians, Sligo Rovers and Sporting Fingal. Unofficially, Shamrock Rovers might also be added to that group.
With widespread talk earlier in the season of Bohemians unhealthy financial situation, the future full-time sustainability within the league of any capacity has to be questioned. However, I don’t want to veer too much off what my main issue is here.
As a member of the P.F.A.I, my main concern is with the players at the moment. My concern lies in the fact that come the 1st November, there will be a lot of players out of contract, myself included.
Some players will be at the end of their current part-time contracts and will find it hard to get by without that form of salary for the cash demanding off-season.
Others who will feel the effects moreso will be those coming out of full-time contracts and therefore face the prospect of no wage for up to two and a half months until clubs return for pre- season training around mid-January.
The fact of the matter as far as I am aware is that clubs used to be able to sign players on pre- contracts or as soon as the current season in question was finished and subsequently, start paying them as soon as possible, and in most circumstances, that included the off-season. I am certainly not saying pre-contracts or anything of that sort are unheard of still but I am simply talking about the majority.
In today’s climate, however, clubs are putting on their business heads and are waiting until January when the pre-season starts again to do their business in terms of signing the majority of their players. This leaves players in an unpleasant position, especially if you rely on full-time football to pay the bills.
This is one of the main reasons why I keep harping on about college and education. It is imperative to have something else in your locker besides football because we, as players, live in such a volatile football environment here in Ireland where year after year, clubs fail to balance their finances to a sufficient manner.
I did an interview for a daily newspaper last week that was printed on the Thursday. During it, I was asked if I had any plans on what I am going to do next season as I am out of contract at Sporting Fingal. Unfortunately, the reporter failed to efficiently grasp my response. Understandably, I cannot give an answer to that question as my future is not sorted out yet but hopefully will be in the near future.
Having finished my Business Degree and my Finance Masters recently, I am perhaps fortunate in that respect as that gives me a different option from my football options. Again, I will echo what I said before, football, especially in the current climate, does not last forever!!
Nevertheless, I am not looking to use my education just yet as I wish to remain in football professionally so it is therefore good to have options, in both a full-time and part-time capacity. I will leave having prepared for the situation that I face and wil be sure to leave myself with options, both domestically and abroad.
I hope that all players who are out of contract at the end of the year will be preparing for the situation they may be left in at the end of the season with clubs unable to pay them in the off-season. I hope also that they will have given themselves options to do something for at least the two and a half months that they face out of football.
To finish on perhaps a happier tone, three of the lads on my team recently became fathers for the first time, Shaun Maher, Alan Kirby and Conan Byrne. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all three and also wish them the very best.
