FCBARCELONA.CAT

09.10.2007 16:52

Laporta, out to defend the rights of clubs

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Insurance and compensations for clubs when their players go off on international duty are the issues at stake in a study being made by the biggest international governing bodies of football.

FIFA Strategic Commission, at a meeting this Tuesday in Zurich being attended by Barça president Joan Laporta, has decided to create a commission to study the possibility of financial compensation and guarantees for clubs when their players play internationals. Joan Laporta may well preside over this commission, which will analyse over the next few months the formulas for repayments to clubs for releasing their players.

This Tuesday’s meeting has brought together leaders from all walks of football, from federations to players. The only club represented at the meeting was FC Barcelona.

Financial compensation

Joan Laporta has once against asked for clubs to have a greater say in whether their players should be released to play in international friendlies. As for official matches, and especially the World Cup Finals, Laporta believes clubs should receive some form of financial compensation. The heads of FIFA and UEFA, Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini, have accepted, for the first time ever, to look into the idea of compensation and have expressed their desire for the international calendar to have as little effect as possible on the development of the different club competitions.

Insurance for clubs

The Barça president has also asked the federations to provide some form of insurance against possible impacts that international football can have on their players, especially in terms of injury and the impossibility of being able to use players in some matches.

On leaving the meeting, Joan Laporta announced he was satisfied with the proceedings, but remained cautious about the future. “We have taken a step forward today” he said. “And it is very important for UEFA and FIFA to be willing to deal with the issues at stake. It means they understand what the clubs need. But there is a lot of work still to be done. The difference is that today we have put the issue on the tables of the international bodies.”