If a football club stops paying you
You have worked so hard your entire life to make it to the pros. You finally sign with a professional soccer club. Months later, you find yourself not being paid.
This actually happens a lot. According to FIFA, the vast majority of employment-related disputes between clubs and players relate to late or non-payment of salary.
So, if this happens to you, how do you make sure that you get paid?
Send a written notification
The first thing you should do is send a written notification to the club. Just send them an email.
In this written notice, you must indicate that the club has unlawfully failed to pay your salaries. FIFA regulations require at least two unpaid monthly salaries before you could unilaterally terminate the contract.
Grant a grace period
You must grant a deadline of at least 15 days for the club to fully comply with its payment obligations. In other words, you cannot immediately terminate the contract even if the club has failed to pay your wages.
If the club still doesn’t pay, terminate the contract
If the club still refuses to pay after the notice and grace period, you may terminate the contract with just cause and sign with a new team.
You can still collect the remuneration that you are owed from your former club by filing a claim.
To file a claim, you must first ascertain the proper venue. If you’re a local player in your league, the contract will probably designate a dispute resolution chamber within the league or the association as the competent body. If you’re an international player, the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the FIFA Football Tribunal often has jurisdiction.
When a player terminates the contract with just cause, he or she is entitled to the residual value of the contract — meaning, the club shall pay the unpaid salaries plus the remaining salaries that you would have earned for the rest of the contract period. Note, however, that any income you earn under a new contract covering the same period will be deducted from the compensation owed by your former club.
