Dozens of A-League players have no contract in place for the new season
Just three weeks before the start of the new A-League season, almost a sixth of all the footballers who played in the A-League last season are without a professional deal.
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IT’S a level of staff turnover that would put to shame a beachside bar staffed by backpackers on rotation — yet millions of dollars and a national sporting competition are at stake.
Just three weeks before the start of the new A-League season, almost a sixth of all the footballers who played in the A-League last season are currently without a professional deal, and don’t know if their football careers are on hold or on skid row.
As coaches leave recruitment decisions until later and later in pre-season, the turnover of players is raising questions over the effect of such job insecurity has on the mental wellbeing of players as well as their athletic performance.
Of the 247 players under contract last season, 37 haven’t re-signed with an A-League team for this coming campaign. A handful have retired, but many have dropped down to the state-based National Premier Leagues in the hope a full-time contract will eventually come up.
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This is all despite the A-League adding an extra team this season, expanding the job opportunities by 10 per cent.
Though the figure of 37 is startling enough, almost three times as many were in that position at the end of February — 115 players, or close to half of the A-League’s entire player “workforce”, unsure of whether they would have a playing job in football just eight months later.
By the start of June, when almost every club had sent its players on annual leave, there were still 58 about to complete a contract without any certainty of being offered another.
The figures are contained in research among its members conducted by the players’ association (PFA) which also reveals that a quarter of players who were told they were being released were either shocked or surprised by the news, with all its consequences.
A third attributed their exit to the arrival of a new coach, while a fifth blamed the constraints of the salary cap.
The scramble to find a new deal becomes more acute the longer the wait to secure a new deal. Former Wanderers and Mariners defender Anthony Golec had agreed to be interviewed for this article, but hours later was unexpectedly offered the chance to sign in Indonesia on the day the transfer window opened there.
Golec flew out immediately, to sign for Perseru Badak Lampung FC, illustrating how a players’ life can be turned upside in order to secure a contract.
“It is incredibly challenging to reach desired levels of high performance when players are operating at such high levels of anxiety,” said PFA CEO John Didulica.
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“Our recently released end of season survey showed that 57 per cent of A-League players were ‘slightly’ or ‘not at all’ confident about career direction.
“There is now real urgency in the club owners committing to a long-term strategy in three key areas: building out the youth league to ensure players have opportunities to play, and not just sit in the stands; that they commit to a plan for expansion; and that they commit to the concept of a second division.
“As stability and opportunities increase across the elite footprint, so will the pool of talented players from which our clubs and our national teams can be built.”
‘You start to ask, what’s Plan B?’
Less than a year ago John Roberts was playing for his country, and less than four months ago he was on the books of the Wanderers.
But as one of a tranche of players released at the end of last season, Roberts is now one of the 37 who still have no full time deal just three weeks before the new season starts.
Roberts played some games for Mount Druitt Town, but already he is starting to question how long he can wait for another opportunity in the professional game, while studying and alternative careers go on hold.
“It is frustrating, more than you can say,” he said. “You’re just waiting and hoping that a club will have a look at you or show some interest.
“There’s literally nothing you can do except try to stay fit and be ready. It’s hard to have the motivation to train hard enough by yourself to stay at that level when you know the season is just a few weeks away.
“You start to ask, what’s Plan B? Should I leave my uni studying on hold? You can put everything on hold and still get nothing. I’m still hopeful but we’ll have to see what happens.”