It is difficult to think of a sector other than football where a business is required to loan out its key assets to someone else who may return them in a damaged condition which mean they can’t be utilised. A classic example is Michael Essien who has not played for Chelsea since being injured in training for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
It is difficult to think of a sector other than football where a business is required to loan out its key assets to someone else who may return them in a damaged condition which mean they can’t be utilised. A classic example is Michael Essien who has not played for Chelsea since being injured in training for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
The ”club versus country’ debate is not a new one with managers of top clubs particularly resenting allowing their players to go on international duty for ‘meaningless’ friendlies. The concerns of clubs are compounded by the fact that such games may be held in the remote parts of the world they recruit players from so that, even if they are not injured, players return jet lagged. Sometimes such players mysteriously develop an injury just before they are due to go.
Peter Murray, director of the independent actuarial consultancy EMB, calculates that Premier League clubs, which have the most players at the World Cup of any national league, face a £15-£20m hit from lost wages due to the extra injuries players will suffer next season after the strain of the Cup. The top six clubs in the Premiership face the biggest losses. Chelsea has 16 players in South Africa and the extra injuries could cost the club £4m.
The European Club Association, which has replaced the more combative G-14, has negotiated a deal with Uefa and Fifa which gives clubs compensatory payments of $2,000 per player per day at a total cost of $40m. This is small change for Chelsea, but may be a significant sum for smaller clubs, particularly those outside Europe who also receive the payment. However, these arrangements do not cover regional tournaments in Africa and Latin America which are often a bigger practical problem for clubs as they come in the middle of the playing season.
It is,. of course, possible to take out insurance cover although it isn’t cheap. Peter Thompson, a sports disability underwriter at Beazley, the Lloyd’s of London insurr, has insured more than 150 players at the World Cup.