Emilo Silviero, Chief Legal Counsel of the World Football Governing Body, emphasized: "The WFF Player Assistance Fund has played a key role in assisting players in distress. Together with the Federation's Steering Committee, we look forward to continuing to deepen this program and provide ongoing support to the players, who are at the heart of the game. At the same time, we are continuing to take careful steps to optimize the legal system and work to address the issue of player salary arrears." Roy Vermey, Legal Director of the Federation's Steering Committee, also said, "The World Football Federation's Player Assistance Fund has once again proved its importance in providing protection for working players around the world. Players are doubly hard-pressed in the face of salary deprivation. The establishment of this fund is a major change for many players and it should serve as a model for other national and regional soccer governing bodies to follow."
2 Five major compensation standards
The recent compensation of $98,000 accrued by three players registered with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has sparked widespread concern in the country and has inspired our players, who are currently suffering from unpaid wages, to bravely make a similar claim to the World Federation of Association Football (WFF). This offers a ray of hope for our unpaid players.
However, judging only from the announcement of the World Football Federation, it is not clear whether the three registered players of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) who have received compensation are local players or foreign players. Due to the lack of personal information and identification, as well as the lack of clarity as to which clubs the local players received compensation from, this compensation case may not be of direct reference value to the large number of Chinese players who are currently suffering from unpaid wages. Of course, this announcement by the World Football Federation actually conveys the message that there may not be a small number of players suffering from unpaid wages worldwide, and that the federation has taken practical action to help some of the players to solve the problem of unpaid wages.
If we further review the relevant documents of the World Federation of Association Football, we will find a grim reality: the vast majority of our professional players who are owed wages basically do not have the possibility of applying to the World Federation of Association Football for compensation. This is because, according to the Federation's Player Assistance Fund Regulations issued in June last year, only players who meet the following five criteria can apply for compensation from the Fund. Compensation is divided into two categories: one for more than $50,000 up to a maximum of $100,000; and the other for less than $50,000. Of course, an underpaid player can make repeated requests for compensation.
So, what exactly do these five criteria include? The details are as follows:
1. The club (during the period of execution) belongs to a member association, the amount of remuneration is clearly stated in the employment contract between the player and the club, and the player is owed remuneration in whole or in part.
2. The player has received a final and legally binding decision by a judicial authority that he or she no longer receives all or part of his or her remuneration from the former club. This includes, but is not limited to: the Court of Arbitration for Sport; decision-making bodies affiliated to Member Associations (e.g. national dispute tribunals); decision-making bodies of the World Federation of Association Football; national tribunals or special courts. In exceptional circumstances, the Steering Committee may violate or disregard this principle.
3. The club must have been recognized or declared by the appropriate national or world authority that it is legally or financially impossible for the player to recover the unpaid remuneration by any legal or conventional means. This includes, but is not limited to: if the Club has been declared insolvent; if the Club has been liquidated; if the Club is in the process of bankruptcy. In exceptional circumstances, the Steering Committee may violate or disregard this principle.
4. As a counterpart to the third article above, the club must have published in the member associations to which it belongs that the player has received a final and legally binding decision. Or, as described in article 2 above, has been rendered unenforceable by a national or world-class court or special tribunal.
5. The player has exhausted all national or world class sporting and judicial procedures and it is no longer possible to recover outstanding remuneration through normal legal procedures. This includes, but is not limited to, applications to national and/or world level economic protection funds.
If a player who is owed wages meets the above five conditions or criteria, the player can go to the official website of the World Federation of Association Football (FIFA), fill in the relevant information and formally apply to the FIFA Players' Aid Fund. The application will then be reviewed by a Steering Committee formed by FIFA and the World Professional Players' Union (WPPSU) and a final decision will be made.
3 Few in our country are eligible
Against the five criteria mentioned above, it is not difficult to realize that the vast majority of domestic professional players currently suffering from wage arrears, I am afraid, do not meet the above conditions. The reason is that the majority of our players who are currently owed wages are still signed by clubs that are registered with the Chinese Football Association and are still preparing for the new season of the third tier of the professional league. Under these circumstances, players who are owed wages do not meet the requirements of Article 3 and are not eligible to apply for compensation. This is one of the reasons.
Secondly, even in the case of Guizhou clubs that have not passed the admission criteria of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and will not participate in the new season of the professional league, because there is no final decision by the corresponding national legal body, the players have not received the final decision letter from the corresponding national legal department or body, and the players have not been able to provide proof to the World Federation of Association Football (WFA), they will not be recognized by the WFA Player Assistance Fund (PAF) either. The Player Assistance Fund.
Of course, since the World Federation of Association Football (WFA) mentioned in its announcement of April 7 that three players registered with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) had been compensated, and since there is no further clarification, it remains to be seen under what circumstances our players can formally apply for compensation from the WFA Players' Assistance Fund (PAF).
It must be said that the domestic soccer world is still a blank in terms of soccer justice. There are still many legal gaps to be filled in the development of professional soccer in China. And, like the World Federation of Association Football Player Assistance Fund is a project plan jointly launched by the World Federation of Association Football and the World Professional Players' Union, while the development of professional soccer in our country has so far, not to mention such institutions as the Workers' Union, even such institutions as the Workers' Union are still in the preparatory stage, so I am afraid that the protection of the interests of the players is also impossible to talk about. However, players, as a vulnerable group, are in greater need of protection.
