What is professional anyway?

The boundary between professionals and amateurs has never been clear – to me at least. But, it’s also never, until recently, especially mattered – in New Zealand at least. They were just broad labels we applied for descriptive purposes.

Yet, the murky distinction has now assumed much significance and started to generate considerable anxiety in New Zealand footballing circles.

At the heart of the drama is our national league, the NZFC, and the vexed matter of player payments. Under an Armageddon scenario, it is believed such payments could sink the Phoenix, the NZFC itself as well as a key pathway for young Kiwi footballers. Ouch.

First, it is a common belief that Fifa’s allowance for the Phoenix to compete in an Australian competition is based on the absence of a professional competition in this country. I’m not aware if this is actually a formal condition or ever explicitly stated, but I expect Fifa would exercise considerable discretion in deciding, based on all factors, pros and cons, whether or how to enforce such a condition, if indeed it actually exists.

If this condition was strictly applied across the globe then how are the allowances for Cardiff, Wrexham or Swansea playing in England explained (I’m sure there must be payments somewhere in the Welsh league) or how could Celtic and Rangers even begin to contemplate the possibility of a move to the Premier League? (For the pedants out there, however you want to draw their political boundaries and define “country”, England, Scotland and Wales have their own international football teams, and that’s what should matter to Fifa.)

Nevertheless, the grumpy mentality of the Asian Football Confederation and its very cool regard for the Phoenix would make any view or perception of the NZFC as “professional” (whatever that means, and we’ll get to that) rather unhelpful – especially right now, with Football Federation Australia carefully negotiating the Phoenix’s future in the competition.
 
Second, the NZFC franchises are substantially financed by gaming trusts. The responsibilities and limitations of these trusts are set out in the Gambling Act 2003. I'm no expert, but the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) website is, at a glance, unequivocal: “Grants must only be made for amateur sport.” It also provides some guide as to what kind of amateur activities can be funded. But, critically, it does not adequately resolve the fundamental uncertainty – what, as the starting point, qualifies as professional or, conversely, amateur sport?

Does a pair of boots or a $30 win bonus in Wellington’s Champs Premier League establish the recipient and their sport as professional? That would be absurd. Even those NZFC players receiving payments are, almost entirely, otherwise employed (or students etc). Some is for "expenses". Others receive nothing. So, where does that leave the status of the league, professional or amateur?

When you google the definition of “professional” you will find some references to payment for services but you will find others that take a broader view and refer to notions such as “career” and “livelihood”, which seems far more appropriate in the context of the NZFC. Maybe DIA and the Gambling Act have clear definitions and can point to precedent elsewhere, but I suspect there’s room for interpretation. And, despite the existence of payments, it would be draconian and, in my view, plain wrong to classify the NZFC as “professional” (and this is the view of somebody who believes the NZFC needs to move away from its dependence on gaming trust funding).

Third, courtesy of Yellow Fever's resident US College football encyclopaedia, Guy Smith, I understood that American colleges do not permit students who have received payment or (even more limiting) played in a league in which others receive payment to compete in college soccer competitions. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has detailed rules and guidelines and seems to distinguish between "expenses" and "income". But anything resembling performance bonuses or match fees looks taboo. If the NZFC was to be labelled - or just become commonly regarded as “professional” - an increasingly fruitful football pathway for many talented young Kiwi footballers could be lost. Although, in this case, the definition of professional is, arguably, a red herring. The key consideration seems to be “payment”, whether such payments constitute professionalism or not.

New Zealand Football is evidently highly nervous of these risks and looking to assert some control. Not only did it recently announce that, from next season, each NZFC franchise board would include an NZF representative (presumably, among other things, with a view to monitoring player payments), but it will also be investigating the introduction of an expenses cap for NZFC franchises. Surprisingly, this cap passed under the media radar – because it could have major implications for the league and for the wealthier franchises in particular. It was even hinted such a cap could be extended to our top winter leagues.

These problems and sensitivities are going to linger. They are unresolved. What will be critical, from a football perspective, is sensible, pragmatic interpretation and discretion. Hopefully, the various footballing, funding and regulatory bodies that wield the power to affect football’s fortunes in this country avoid a simplistic, and potentially arbitrary, focus on “payment”, and take a much broader and comprehensive view when contemplating whether the NZFC constitutes a “professional” competition. Because – today - it certainly does not.

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Macca B   #1   01:10 pm Jan 26 2010

It would appear, Sam, that your thoroughly thought provoking and incisive commentary on the world of professional sport and the implications of the label 'professionalism' has not only blown the mind of every 'Hand of God' reader (hence the few comments) but similarly shoved the crowbar of injustice into a tightly closed Pandora's box.

Is that a Pulitzer for journalism I see in the not too distant future?

AJ   #2   02:32 pm Jan 26 2010

The general 'loose' term for professional (as far as football goes) is someone employeed by a club as their full time occupation and legally declaring it as their main source of income. Or being paid to play (or coach etc...) - thats the first thing that comes to mind.

Charly   #3   02:34 pm Jan 26 2010

I like what your saying here Sam, Yet i feel these things will always stay the same no matter how hard the Clubs try to hide it (Payments).

Royz   #4   02:43 pm Jan 26 2010

I beleived this write-up was based on David Mulligan never seeing or being part of the professional game here in Wellington for the Nixs. You want a scandle = How can he still be on the books and not play a single game in 2 years?

But it being based on the NZFC was good and i enjoyed reading what you were underlining.

Alex Winsley   #5   06:38 pm Jan 26 2010

Quite hard to compare what the NCAA run in the US to our situation though? Incentive-based scholarships largely dispel the need for US-based young players to go looking for bonuses in pro leagues, for instance. Slightly off-topic, but is there a draft system for football there, like the other big codes have?

Ben Haven   #6   10:20 pm Jan 26 2010

Excellent blog, but hopefully sense will prevail?? Makes you wonder how Auckland have spent the prize money won at the World Club Champs and how much went to the players, and is this receipt of prize or appearance money "professional". Same with OFC money for both Auckland and Waitakere. I feel sure that somewhere on its books FIFA has a formal definition of what football officialdom classes as a professional.

Jeff Hayward   #7   03:39 pm Jan 27 2010

Congratulations on a thought provoking article Sam. It's certainly a thorny issue.I can assure you the original Kingz dispensation to play as a professional team in the Australian National League was that the NZ competition was essentially amateur. I assume that license still holds true for the Phoenix. I think it's a fair comment to say that any player in the NZFC who receives payments (City aside, most can't pay much) is still not a professional unless football is his main or sole income. The NZFC basically just pays expenses. Most of the players in the NZFC have regular jobs so at best they're part-timers. Auckland City has poured about half it's $2 million winnings from the recent Club World Cup into subsidising the other NZFC clubs and that's probably now the main source of funds for the whole competition, with trusts topping that up.

Jono   #8   05:52 am Jan 28 2010

You're mkaing out that returns to the game in NZ are some great act of benevolence by Auckland City. It's not and they have not "poured their money" into the NZFC. Their distributions are required under the NZFC licence agreement, agreed to by all clubs, and would be the same no matter which side qualified for the Club World Cup. Waitakere's prize money was distributed in the same manner.

What you don't address is that Auckland City, an amateur club, is finded to the tune of 500k annually by local gambling trusts, based on their "amateur status" (do Lee and Vicelich have jobs outside of playing football by the way?). Do they intend to repay those trusts with the prize money that they otherwise hope to distribute to their players as win bonuses? And what counts as expenses, 20k a season? 30k a season?

Is it an issue that the Trillian Trust, who funds ACFC, has access to a corporate entertainment box at Kiwitea Street for sponsors?

cm   #9   12:56 pm Jan 28 2010

There's quite a borad spectrum, but where do you draw the dividing line?

My personal take on it is that it becomes professional when you get materially more than just compensation for expenses.

If a gaming trust pays for accommodation and travel. That's fine. A pair of boots here and there, or a new kit bag. Fine.

So too are some low value goods. A T shirt or a few drinks here and there.

But it surely becomes professional when the compensation is out of line with direct sporting costs. Sponsorship with cars. People getting hired by a company but spending most of their time playing sport. Even sports scholarships to universities and private schools are really professional.

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