MANILA, Philippines – The sad ongoing problems of Global FC has parallelisms to Philippine football.
It is ambitious, but rightly so. Whether it was planned out thoroughly is debatable. It quickly rose and well, went down. Sadly, not without controversies that have haunted it for quite some time now.
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While their problems — for example, the non-payment of players, which is downright horrific, cruel and malicious — are not exclusive, it goes to show how the sport isn’t at yet sustainable.
When the money, attention and hype gushed down from 2011-14, I think people, clubs and players thought the gravy train would not end. But it did.
Watching the sport grow from within and from a distance, people ignored the tell-tale signs of a recession within the sport. As far back as 2012, we have written about a need for a salary cap and other measures in place. But no… the sun was shining on the sport.
Salaries — especially the disparity between Filipinos born overseas and most locals — were telling. With that spiraling out of control and with no gate receipts, massive merchandise sales, or limited sponsorship, their operational budgets were stretched.
Sponsors needed to have deep pockets. But even that in itself was difficult with no return of their investments. Some clubs stopped competing after a year or two. Some sold their clubs after a year of operation.
I always wondered why when there were these new clubs popping up, why weren’t they presented to the public like you see abroad?
Whoever these new owners of Global FC, why don’t they meet the press? Why aren’t there players, coaches and supporters in any press conference? Maybe they did. But isn’t it time to have one to clear the air once and for all instead of making announcements and threatening their players on social media?
How come after Ceres was purchased, only a press statement was issued. Why isn’t the media allowed to interview these new owners? Well, there is a familiar name, but really…. what is it they do? Why do the players note the logo looks eerily like… Global’s? Can we see some paperwork about the ownership?
Why don’t players air grievances with the proper authorities? Oh, they did but did not find a receptive ear.
It is tragic when you have players being told they can expect their pay on this day, only for them to find nothing in their bank accounts. They have bills to pay. Some have been tossed out of their apartments and have to bunk in with others. Others have had their accounts frozen. Some even left their jobs to play for this team. Some have gone to the team’s former offices expecting to get paid only to find out the owner did not go to work (so they have to borrow money to go back to where they were billeted.
What makes it worse is these are the worst kept secrets in local football, yet officials have looked the other way. And Global isn’t the only club experiencing that.
Why are people afraid to speak up? Because they are afraid they will be cast out by their club and be out of work.
Some have resorted to filing court cases. Some have gone to higher bodies. And this happened after their patience has long worn out.
People shouldn’t hide behind statutes and they say, “They are for football.” That smacks of trapo politics.
And using the pandemic as an excuse when clearly the debts were owed even before that? That is just so malicious.
When you have staff of the club hightailing out of there after practice just to avoid the players, now, that is so wrong. They are just as culpable.
If they cannot pay the person they contracted for artwork — and it isn’t a huge amount to begin with — how can we expect them to pay salaries?
And why was a player asked to make a deposit to the team owner? Doesn’t that strike you as odd?
In trying to get the side of Global FC management, they have passed the buck from one to another. One did reply, but he said he knew nothing.
Just like the players who checked their bank accounts after being told their will receive what is owed them, there is nothing for me to get from them.
Perhaps, there are only more questions that make me wonder what the heck is going on.
“With an eye for trophies”?
I think they should pay up first before they even think about that.