⚽️ HT Kick Off: Rising wages: whose fault is it?Asking players to take a pay cut for an unusual season is different from using the crisis to lower salaries, writes Dhiman in this issue
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has pulled off quite the coup by getting the sports ministry in its corner and announcing that Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League will be held this season. ISL clubs were told clearly that enough meetings have happened, and letters exchanged, and that a decision on participation would have to be made at the meeting with union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya. All 14 clubs have agreed to play, some with conditions. Thanks for reading Kick Off! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. A difficult conversationIt triggered another difficult conversation: cost rationalisation. Some clubs do not have a stadium and some are looking to trim expenses by sharing one. But it was Parth Jindal who addressed the elephant in the room: players need to share some of the burden of the owners, he said. Now that the plea to save Indian football and the clarity that players, owners and fans sought have been addressed, how about footballers being ready to sacrifice, the Bengaluru FC owner asked? With that, Jindal brought into the open what was being discussed in meetings between clubs, AIFF and the sports ministry. Had the league not happened, clubs could have checked if force majeure was applicable to players’ contracts and sought a reset from 2026-27. Tuesday’s meeting scotched that plan. Clubs wanting to reduce losses this term in the absence of a central revenue pool is understandable. As is the owners’ saying why should they suffer for what is clearly not their doing. Even when stretched financially, now that Rs 50 crore it got from commercial partners has stopped, AIFF is paying to ensure football. It is not unfair to ask players and staff to cushion some of the blow.
“Why pay so much?”But using the crisis to try and bring down players’ salaries is. At a time when there was no certainty of ISL12, Bengaluru FC signed Ashique Kuruniyan on a four-year deal said to be worth over Rs 1 crore annually. Try squaring that with asking players to “sacrifice”. Or, salary bills increasing even as clubs complained of losses. Should negotiations stall, some clubs could play reserve teams in ISL. Because, as one player pointed out to his ISL employers, not all clubs have sought to reduce wages. “It is not as if players don’t understand how difficult investing in football is. But we are worried that we will be asked to take a pay cut that could be as high as 30%,” a club captain told me. Their books better balanced, the CEO of another club simply said: “Who asked those clubs to pay so much?” For all the data available, player recruitment is not an exact science. And ballooning wage bills are not an Indian problem alone. A small players’ pool though is. Till that is addressed – and there are no easy fixes here – Indian players, at least those in the national team, will get more than what they would have been worth elsewhere. And now about the clip to “save Indian football”. Is tagging FIFA the best way to draw the attention of the world football body or was this done to get eyeballs? Is it fair to say Indian football’s governance is no longer able to fulfill responsibilities when four national teams have qualified for Asia, the women’s league and age-group leagues are on? Finally, why doesn’t the clip mention that the I-League has also been “paralysed” and draw the attention of the world to how players paid significantly less are getting by? Play of the week
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In other news“Owner not coach”: Lionel Messi would prefer to become a club owner rather than a coach when he quits as a player, reports AP. In October, he signed a three-year contract extension with Inter Miami to take him through the 2028 season. “I don’t see myself as a coach,” the 38-year-old Messi told the Luzu TV streaming channel in an interview recorded in December that aired Tuesday. “I like management, but if I have to decide for one of the three I would like to be an owner.” Messi is already a part owner of Uruguay’s fourth-division team Deportivo LSM, which is co-owned by Inter teammate Luis Suarez. Rosenior at Chelsea: Chelsea have appointed new manager Liam Rosenior on a six-year deal, hours after his departure from French club Strasbourg amid fans’ unrest, reports AP. The attack-minded Rosenior, regarded as a strong developer of young players, became the second Black Chelsea coach after Ruud Gullit and was contracted to 2032. Rosenior,41, has been praised for turning Strasbourg, which is part of the same ownership group as Chelsea, into a force in Ligue 1 after a seventh-place finish last season that secured European football. He is the fifth permanent coach at Chelsea since BlueCo ownership took over in 2022,
Keegan diagnosed with cancer: Kevin Keegan, the former England captain and coach, has been diagnosed with cancer, his family has said, reports AP. The 74-year-old Keegan was recently admitted to the hospital after presenting abdominal symptoms and has undergone further tests. “These investigations have revealed a diagnosis of cancer, for which Kevin will undergo treatment,” read a statement from Keegan’s family that was shared by Newcastle, a former club for which he played and coached. Keegan, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1978 and ‘79 while playing for Hamburg, represented England 63 times scoring 21 goals and featured at the World Cup in 1982. Frank’s mug gaffe: Embattled Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank drew the ire of fans after being photographed with a cup bearing the Arsenal insignia on Wednesday, with the Dane later saying the mix-up was purely accidental, reports Reuters. Images of Frank walking around Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium sparked fresh outrage among Tottenham fans on social media. “…It would be absolutely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal on it (deliberately),” said Frank. “They’ve (Arsenal) been in the changing room the game before us,” he added. “It’s normal to say, ‘give me a cup of espresso’ before every game. I think it’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question like that.” Arsenal had visited Bournemouth in the league on Saturday. Tunisia coach exits: Tunisia have parted with coach Sami Trabelsi and his coaching staff following their last 16 exit at the Africa Cup of Nations, says AP. “The executive committee has decided to terminate by mutual consent the contractual relationship with the entire technical staff of the national team,” the Tunisian Federation of Football said in a statement on Facebook late Sunday. City’s defensive crisis: Ruben Dias will be sidelined for up to six weeks and Josko Gvardiol is out for “a long time” as Manchester City battle a growing defensive crisis, manager Pep Guardiola has said, reports AFP. The injuries could persuade the club to bring in reinforcements in the January transfer window, with Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi understood to be on City’s radar. City announced on Monday Gvardiol was facing a lengthy lay-off with a tibial fracture to his right leg he suffered in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Dias will be out for “between four and six weeks,” said the manager. Rape accused joins Wydad: Former France attacker Wissam Ben Yedder, who is due to stand trial accused of rape, has joined Moroccans Wydad Athletic Club on a six-month deal with the option to extend it for another season, reports AFP. Last year, the public prosecutor’s office in Nice decided the 35-year-old would stand trial for rape, attempted rape and sexual assault. His brother Sabri is also due to stand trial for rape and sexual assault. The charges came in 2023 following accusations made by two teenage women the brothers had met at a party.
Neymar extends contract: Neymar has agreed to extend his contract with Santos until the end of 2026, the Brazilian club has said, as he maintains hopes of a World Cup call-up despite recent injuries, reports AFP. The 33-year-old forward returned to his boyhood club Santos in January 2025 and played a key role in their survival in the Brazilian top flight, scoring five times in their last five matches. “Santos is my place, I’m at home,” Neymar said in a video published on the Brazilian club’s social media. Herdman Indonesia coach: Indonesia have named former Canada coach John Herdman as the boss of the national team following the departure of Barcelona and Dutch great Patrick Kluivert. The appointment of 50-year-old Englishman Herdman was “the beginning of a new era”, the Indonesian football association (PSSI) said, reports AFP. Herdman guided Canada’s men to the 2022 World Cup, their first appearance in 36 years. He took Canada’s women to the quarter-finals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup hosted by the country. Kluivert left the Indonesia job after failing to get them to this year’s World Cup. You may also be interested in:
Iconic MomentWe will always have Paris
Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele marked their returns to the Paris Saint-Germain starting XI by securing a 2-1 win over Paris FC on Sunday as the French capital enjoyed its first top-flight derby since 1990, reports AFP. None of the starters on either side at the Parc on Sunday were born when the last Paris derby took place, and both clubs are a world away from where they were nearly 36 years ago. Also read🔗 Diaz, ‘Mazadona’ and more: new stars out of Africa. They said it
That’s all for this week. As always, I look forward to your feedback. You can either write to me at dhiman@htlive.com, or reply to this mail. Edited and produced by Shad Hasnain.Thanks for reading Kick Off! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
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