COVID-19: Top Sides Coping With Salaries For Now
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Monday March 30, 2020 17:40
Almost all sporting activities in the world have been stopped as the world battles the spread of the deadly virus.
In Italy, which is among the hardest hit with the death toll reaching more than 700 each day, top sides are said to be in talks with their employees to try for salary adjustments until the situation stabilises.
Serie A log leaders, Juventus have apparently asked both the players and the technical team to take pay cuts for a few months. All the players and the technical side have reportedly agreed to the request.
In Spain Barcelona players have reportedly refused to accept the pay cut. Although several top sides in Europe have financial backers, the indefinite halt of the league action has meant that income coming from the sale of tickets for matches is no longer there. This has affected most clubs who have relied much on gate takings.
Locally, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) also ordered stoppage of all football activities in the country before several other sporting codes also suspended their activities. Several Botswana Premier League (BPL) sides have struggled to meet their contractual obligations with players regarding salaries with most of them relying on gate takings.
The Footballers Union of Botswana (FUB) recently revealed that only eight Premiership sides are able to pay players’ salaries as per agreements.
With coronavirus now running amok, some top sides locally have said they are still coping with the wage bill for now despite the leagues having been suspended. Orapa United who recently won the Mascom Top 8 title and is currently chasing their first league title have said they have not reached a point of negotiating with their employees over a cut in wages amid the outbreak of the pandemic. The Ostriches are among top sides in the league who have managed to attract top talent in the country.
Club spokesperson, Kabo William said although the pandemic and the suspension of sporting activities has affected everyone, they have not yet considered scaling down their expenses in terms of salaries.
He said they have since paid their players and other staff full salaries. He said in most cases they have not really depended on gate takings for paying players’ salaries.
“We will however see how it goes because this was the first month. Going forward if we are caught up in some situations we will see how we go about it in consultation with the association (BFA) and FUB, but for now we are paying them as agreed,” he said.
Another top side, Security Systems which has started this season like a house on fire have also managed to fulfill their contractual obligations with their staff.
“They are still working as we speak. We might have stopped group training, but every player has been given a training programme to follow so that they do not lose shape.
They also communicate regularly with their coaches on WhatsApp. So yes, they get their full salaries,” the club’s spokesperson, Zolani Kraai said yesterday. He went on to mention that if the current crisis prolongs, eventually affecting their coffers, they will sit down as the executive together with the players and map the way forward.
“You have to understand that when such a situation arrives, we cannot just make a decision without involving them,” he said.
Jwaneng Galaxy, who are currently leading the log, said everything might be going well now, but they are projecting a different scenario for themselves and other Premiership sides next month.
“I think several clubs will manage this month, but it will be a different story from next month because right now clubs are spending all that is in their coffers. Next month it will be difficult because there will not be any income coming in,” the club’s spokesperson, Tankiso Morake said. He added that although their players are in self-isolation, they are aware of what is expected of them during this period. He said like other teams, the players know the importance of training and keeping fit during these trying times so that by the time the situation normalises, they can hit the ground running without any hiccups.