24 March 2023 , 16:48
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Saturday is Non-League Day – please support your local semi-professional or grassroots team and help to nourish football's feeder system.
But a storm is brewing because of major changes to non-league players' contracts, and at Macclesfield we have made a stand which other clubs, hopefully, will follow. As I understand it, this change comes into effect for contracts with the FA from July 2023 - but there is so much disquiet among players at National League level and below that there is even talk of strike action.
Wow – after a winter where train drivers, nurses, ambulance staff, junior doctors and border control officers have resorted to industrial action, I didn't envisage footballers threatening to strike.
Here's why players are so concerned: Under current contracts, if a player suffers an injury, they continue to be paid their wages for the duration of that agreement.
But under the new contract rules, players would only receive full pay for 12 weeks (or six weeks below the National League) – after which clubs can reduce their wages to statutory sick pay, which is currently £99.35 per week.
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This reduction will automatically apply unless the club agrees that the player should continue to receive his full wages for the contract duration, and the player must tick an “opt-in” box.
In addition, under the terms of the new rules, a player's contract can be terminated with three months' notice if, in the opinion of a club-instructed medical professional, the player is unable to play for four months or more.
The PFA does not have an agreement with the National League or the FA to represent non-League players and they are “extremely concerned” by this development.
In a statement, the players' union warned: “We were asked by the FA for feedback on the new contract. We made it clear that we do not endorse or support it. These changes represent a significant reduction in players' rights.”
For context: If you are earning £700 a week as a rising star in non-league football and your leg is broken by a bad tackle, your income could be reduced to £99 a week unless you tick the opt-in box. You would not be able to pay your mortgage, heating bills, run a car or put food on the table. That's not acceptable.
As a club – and Macclesfield FC were the first ones to do it – we will advise our players to opt in, pay their wages and not terminate them at any point for the duration of their contracts.
Macclesfield have been successful since Robbie arrived (James Gill/Getty Images)How can I ask them to commit to us, and the journey we want to go on, if we don't give them the same basic commitment in return? We want to show them loyalty because, from 18-year-old prospects to experienced old heads, your livelihood might depend on that money coming in every month.
Our club statement, explaining that we will encourage all contracted players to opt-in, has already been viewed more than 1.5 million times on social media. I hope every club at our level, right up to the National League, will commit to their players by encouraging them to opt in.
When I was out for seven months with a broken leg in 2007 as a Blackburn player, I was by no means destitute – but I wouldn't have got very far paying off the mortgage, or keeping up to date with investments, if my pay had suddenly dipped to £99 a week.
At Macclesfield, we can pay decent money – our budget is the highest in the Northern Premier League West – because we have brought 60,000 fans through the gate in 16 home games this season. There is still jealousy and envy about our financial strength, but we only pay our players what we can afford.
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And in theory, we could put long-term injured players on £99-a-week sick pay and use the money we save on their wages to bring in more signings. But we're not going to do that because it wouldn't be right.
If you offer a contract, and the player signs it, it's a two-way street. Clubs should never offer wages which they have no hope of paying.
I know there are clubs who are struggling to pay their bills and turn on the floodlights, but this is not a question of money. You can't put a price on integrity. We've all heard the adage that no player is bigger than the club. But on this occasion, at Macclesfield FC players come first.