Player power takes root
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Article summary
Footballers in the F.Y.R. Macedonia have formed a union in a bid to tackle the game's financial problems.
Article body
Cash crisis
The move is a reaction to the ongoing failure of clubs to pay players' wages as football is caught up in the widespread economic crisis affecting the former Yugoslav republic. The professional game is seriously underfunded, leading to a drop in standards on and off the field.
Players' rights
Zanko Savov, a player with top-flight club FK Cementarnica 55, has been elected president of the new association which is thought to include around 130 members. Savov said that the union would seek a dialogue with the Macedonian Football Union and its president Haralampije Hadzi-Risteski, aimed at improving the treatment of players by clubs.
Strike threat
"We are expecting a positive development," Savov said. "But if we cannot see any improvement, we will take radical measures, perhaps even leading to a break in the season."
