FIFPRO Says Players in Asia Face Uphill Battle For Their Rights; David Beckham's Guild Esports PLC Raises $26 Million in London and More (Football Round-Up)
Every player has the right to share fairly in the economic activity and wealth of his or her sport which players have helped generate, underpinned by fair and just pay and working conditions, is one of the key principles of FIFPro universal declaration of player rights.
The global players’ union FIFPRO on Tuesday said that footballers in many regions of Asia struggle to make ends meet and the coronavirus pandemic has made them even more vulnerable to wage cuts and redundancies.
FIFPRO general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann told reporters over a conference call that while the rights of footballers is a worldwide concern, the situation in Asia is a little more serious as there is a lack of dialogue with federations and clubs.
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“The unfortunate reality is that in many parts of Asia, the level of engagement and collective bargaining is lacking and this is having an drastic effect,” Baer-Hoffmann said.
“It is a major football market and it has very rich team owners who have the capacity to sustain the clubs,” he added. “The players are not the only ones who need to make sacrifices.”
In June FIFPRO had revealed that a couple of players were earning their living by working either as street vendors or by selling ice and other food after being handed a salary of $50 a month.
Guild Esports Raises $25 million
Former England football captain David Beckham’s Guild Esports PLC has raised £20 million ($25.7 million) ahead of plans to make their debut on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
Guild said they have oversubscribed offering 250 million shares at 8 pence per ordinary share.
According to the prospectus filed with the UK Listing Authority, Beckham, who is an original shareholder, will acquire 4.78 percent stakes in the company making him the fourth largest shareholder alongside Toro Consulting, Blue Star Capital and Schroder Investment Management.
The company aims to establish its own esports team to compete in major tournaments and also intends to introduce player training along with scouting infrastructure in a manner similar to that of Premier League football teams.
Guild has claimed that the coronavirus pandemic has increased the demand of e-sports and some tournaments have attracted a larger audience than Wimbledon, Tour de France and the US Open.
Real Kashmir Launch Women Teams
Poonam Chattoo, the head of the She Power Program project launched by Real Kashmir FC has reiterated her belied that this is the right time for the club to focus on the women’s football development in the country.
"The idea of a women's team was always there on top of our minds. We needed to get our bearings right as we are very new into the business of football. We are also learning with each passing season,” Chattoo said in an interview with Goal.com. “Real Kashmir will be looking after the technical aspect of the project like providing coaches and other necessary things. Whereas, DPS will help us with their infrastructure”.
"It provides us with the required security and the right kind of facilities that girls require. For example, proper washrooms and a locker room. You need to be a little more careful when you are handling little girls," she said.
Real Kashmir started an initiative to create more opportunities for women in the state to play the game, earlier this month and wanted to create opportunities for them at the grassroot level. Partnering with Delhi Public School (DPS) in Srinagar the club hopped to conduct camps toto develop women’s football in the region.
The programme was inaugurated on September 20 and more than 60 girls enlisted themselves for the U 14 Trials at DPS Srinagar. While the age group teams are a huge step forward, the state still lacks a senior club team playing at the national level, and Chattoo hopes that is something that can be developed in the future.
"The best tournaments in the country are in the senior category. And hopefully, we will have a senior team someday. For now, we just want to put a few smiles on the faces of the Kashmiris. There is an immense amount of talent in Kashmir and they just need a platform to showcase their skills.”
Dutch Football Spectator Ban
Dutch football have accepted the decision taken by the government on not allowing spectators from all sporting events because of a second wave of the coronavirus.
A statement from the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said there was no scientific evidence to show there was a link between crowds in stadiums and the increase in the number of cases in the country.
Initially, limited numbers of spectators were supposed to be allowed in the stadiums for the new league season but the decision has been halted after the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced new restrictions.
“The cabinet has come up with drastic measures. They hit the whole of society hard. Extremely hard. And so also professional football. But apparently this is necessary,” the KNVB statement saidin response.
“This is of course very sour, all the more because there is no scientific evidence between the presence of an audience in a stadium and the increase in the number of corona cases in the Netherlands.”
Spurs Goalkeeping Coach Fined
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos was fined £8,000 and banned from the touchline for one match for "improper conduct" during the club’s match against Newcastle over the weekend.
Santos was sent off for reacting inappropriately when Newcastle was awarded a penalty by the video assistant referee (VAR) after an inexplicable and very contentious handball decision. An FA spokesperson said Santos used "abusive and/or insulting language" towards a match official.
Santos has not denied the charge.
VAR gave out the penalty in extra time when Newcastle striker Andy Carroll headed a cross against Eric Dier's arm from close. At the time of the action, Dier was facing away from the ball and had his arm away from his body simply because of being in the air, while attempting a header. Callum Wilson scored the resultant penalty in the 97th minute an equaliser that gave Newcastle precious points they had done little to deserve a point their manager Steve Bruce conceded when admitting that football had evidently "lost the plot" with handball.
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