FIFPro news
Players Once Caldas end strike after agreement
Thursday 02 September
Footballers of Colombian club Once Caldas have ended their strike, after the 2004 South American champion had promised to pay the players their back wages before the upcoming weekend.
On Monday, nineteen squad members signed a letter telling the club they would not train until their back wages were paid. ‘We decided to strike because the situation is very complicated’, team captain Alexis Henríquez explained in daily El Espectador.
‘Most of us can't pay for food, our utilities have been cut and our kids are being sent home from school, so we took this decision until our back salaries are settled. The directors told us the situation is very complicated, that there's no money. But we aren't going to wait any longer.’
Initially, the club directors reacted furious. Once Caldas’ general manager Duván Vásquez even threatened to sanction players or sack the footballers who would continue the strike.
But after two days vice president José Manuel López and team captain Alexis Henríquez jointly announced that both parties had worked out a settlement. The club promised to pay one month of all the back wages this week, while the players promised to return to training on Wednesday 1 September and pledged to improve their performance. The club is currently 11th in the 18-team league.
‘We are paying the players some of the money we owe them', López said. 'They were understanding and gave us a deadline to cancel our debts completely. The club will gradually pay the salaries with gate takings. And the players have committed themselves to improving their performances in search of better sporting and economic results.’
The vice president added that the club’s financial situation is still fragile, because Once Caldas has not received a promised 1,100 million pesos sponsorship money (approximately 350,000 euro, or 400,000 US dollar).
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