Footballers are considered to be among the highest earners in Egypt, but will this fact change after the January 25 Revolution? The salary cap has become a major talking point in Egyptian football recently, with the FA unable to take a decisive stance regarding the issue, only announcing it would ‘seriously consider the option'. The Egyptian football ruling body's coy approach is probably because of the contradicting responses from different parties involved in the business. While the majority of fans fully support the notion, footballers believe it's a nightmare looming. Club boards on the other hand, are stuck between the benefit of minimizing costs or the setback of losing their highly-paid star players. But what is the salary cap? In a simple form, the salary cap is a limit on the sum of money each club in the league is entitled to spend on player salaries. This limit is determined by the governing body of the league (Egyptian FA), derived from the total annual revenues amassed from football. Among the various reactions to the potential rule, Ismaili chairman Nasr Aboul-Hassan was relatively the closest with his suggestion. “Things cannot be the same in football after the revolution,” Aboul-Hassan said. “There must be a limit for the millions spent on footballers by club boards. I suggest that each club should be given a maximum of EGP 20million per season to spend on players' wages.” Aboul-Hassan's view is mainly because of a personal benefit which would help him overcome the financial crisis at Ismaili, plus keeping the team's stars away from big-spending rivals. However, the objective of such a theory is intended to serve general public purposes. Primarily, it prevents rich clubs from having a stranglehold on all quality players and thus preventing rivals from making decent signings. Moreover, it helps clubs control their costs in an attempt to allocate more funds for other purposes than the football first-team. In brief, it is merely a business process with a lot more characteristics other than reducing the earnings of footballers for the sake of the people. Will footballers be on the losing side? Apparently, the rule would see a number of footballers in Egypt sacrifice a portion of their lucrative club contracts, or choose to look elsewhere for better deals. But the question remains, do these footballers deserve their millions in the first place? “I am not against anyone who earns millions of pounds from his job,” said renowned sports analyst Hassan Al-Mestekawi. “But in return, this person must have the potentials to achieve millions for his club, his company or whatever entity he belongs to.
Will footballers see their contracts down? “I don't blame players, but club boards are responsible for such a problem. “It is really unbelievable they're talking about this now. Did they need a revolution to see that? I've been talking about this theory since 15 years!” On the contrary, Ahli marketing director Adli Al-Qaeyi believes that the change should come from the players. “If this rule was implemented, it will be a rare virtue for this association. Footballers must be aware of the situation we're in as a country in the meantime,” the Ahli transfer guru said. Al-Qaeyi's Zamalek counterpart Ashraf Sobhi believes that mega-earners will remain unscathed with the implementation of the salary cap. “It all depends on the market. It will be impossible to limit the contract of Mido with Zamalek, or that of (Mohamed) Abou-Treika with Ahli,” he said. The other side of the story While non-footballers have significantly shown support to the idea, it was natural to see a negative response from the main element of the equation. “The salary cap is not a good option. It does not exist in Europe or even in Africa,” said new Zamalek signing Mido, who is probably the highest-earning footballer in Egypt with a three-and-a-half-year contract reportedly worth EGP 19million. “Every player has ambitions to secure his future by earning more. If this rule was applied in Egypt, star players will be forced to look for better deals with foreign clubs.” Mido's strike partner Amr Zaki agreed saying: “I totally reject this option. Controlling wages and contracts has no place in the world of professional football.” Ismaili boss Mark Wotte joined in saying: “It would be unreasonable. Footballers all over the world are highly-paid and that's because they make many sacrifices. “Players exert a lot of effort, are away from their homes for long spells and always have to be in good physical shape.” Defender Shadi Mohamed fears a much broader effect than just harming footballers. “In fact I believe that the salary cap would increase corruption, because club boards will be forced to compensate their top player with under-the-table deals,” the ex-Ahli captain said. Suggestions The general rejection of footballers to the potential rule was coupled by alternative solutions, according to their own point of view. “There is a logical solution to the problem though, like adding a clause to every contract over EGP 1million that obliges the player to donate 10% to the poor,” Mido suggested. Ismaili's Shadi said: “There are many other aspects that can be looked upon to fix. For example, millions are spent on football grounds and then players suffer major injuries because of poor turfs. “There are also a lot of unauthorized agents who amass millions. Justice will not be achieved by being unfair towards footballers.” Finally, Dutchman Wotte believes that ‘investing' would the optimal solution to the problem.
