High prices for Syrian players, despite the fall of the Syrian Pound

Transfer prices for football players in Syria are flying due to the decline in the local currency exchange rate, in light of the emptiness of club coffers due to the suffocating economic crisis and the repercussions of the outbreak of the new Corona virus.

With the start of the transfer season, the government-owned clubs were surprised by the large sums players demanded to sign with them or to renew contracts for others, before the new season, which is scheduled to start on October 21.

"Professionalism has become a curse ... I was surprised by the demands of the players that we had previously contracted with for reasonable amounts. Now they are demanding large numbers, amounting to 60 million pounds (about 30 thousand dollars) for one season. The rise in the value of the dollar and the fall of the lira.

While the exchange rate of the dollar was equal to about 50 Syrian pounds before the start of the ongoing war in Syria about ten years ago, it has now doubled about forty times, exceeding two thousand pounds.

With it, the prices of all commodities doubled, while the salaries of employees increased slightly.

For example, international Tamer Hajj Muhammad moved last season to Hattin club with a big deal locally and for one season for 43 million pounds (about 86 thousand dollars), and the dollar was then worth 500 Syrian pounds, and international Hussein Jaweed was also paid for playing for one season with Hattin last season. 35 million pounds (about 70 thousand dollars).

"We need in the next season, contracts and other expenses, for a large budget of between 400 and 500 million pounds, noting that the club's investments reach about 160 million pounds," the businessman said.

- October surprises - The economic crisis and the difficult living conditions in Syria have imposed themselves on all life activities and cast a shadow on the sports scene.

In unofficial statistics, about ten years ago, the average per-capita income per month reached 30,000 liras (about $ 600), while the average income now reaches 50,000 pounds (about $ 25).

The economic crisis and the decrease in the purchasing power of the pound coincided with the spread of the Corona virus, and the (professional) league clubs found themselves between the hammer of the economic crisis and the anvil of Corona, which deprived them of large material income, as a result of holding the League and Cup matches without an audience.

Despite these circumstances, the coastal club of Tishreen, the champions of the league, surprised everyone by making contracts with international stars, similar to the return of Al-Salamah from the army and the police force, and with good numbers locally that it was said that it exceeded 50 million pounds each for one season.

The investments hardly cover the value of the contract with one player, which means that the club’s budget has increased, whose president Tariq Zaini apologized for its details. “I cannot provide numbers to preserve the progress of work.”

Zaini indicated that a large part of the budget is covered by the sponsor of the team, in addition to the cooperation of the members of the administration.

A quarter of decades old

Hattin al-Sahili is suffering, third last season, from poor investments and not setting the budget for next season, according to his boss Khaled Tawil, "We have not set the budget yet and rely on Fawz, the sponsor."

However, his technical director, Hussein Afash, believes that the players ’demands are correct.“ The players have the right to increase the value of their contracts after the devaluation of the lira, and they are now getting a quarter of what they got last season. ”

In the capital, the popular Al-Wehda team, the cup and fifth league champion, has renewed all of its players' contracts despite the high debt ratio.

He has contracted with three international stars, Osama Omri, Hamid Mido and Mohamed Zeno.

Omri explains, "The purchasing power of some players is good, especially the distinguished internationals, but the contracts are not sufficient to secure their future ... The players’ contracts in past seasons were good compared to their contracts at present due to the devaluation of the Syrian pound. The purchasing power of the players is of course greater than the purchasing power of the average citizen. " .

In unofficial statistics, the average income of a first-class player is about one and a half million pounds (about 750 dollars), while the income of some reaches 4 million pounds (about two thousand dollars).

High indebtedness

Former international Maher Al-Sayed, the current president of Al-Wehda Club, acknowledges the high debts and the team’s budget for the next season ranges between 600 to 900 million pounds. Waiting for conditions to improve. "

As for the Aleppo federation, which holds the big titles, according to its president, Basil Hamwi, it depends on lovers and expatriates, "the approximate budget for the next season is between 400 and 500 million pounds, knowing that the club’s investments reach about 200 million annually."

If we exclude the army and the police, who enjoy financial stability since they follow the ministries of defense and the interior, the rest of the clubs will continue to suffer from weak professional status and the absence of financial returns, which are essential elements in the professional system that, since its application on Syrian football about twenty years ago, has been unable to achieve the level Qualitative required.

This was the saying that reflected the state of Syrian football, "Syrian football is rotating with the ability of Qadir, and had it not been round, it would not have revolved."

It is noteworthy that, considering that the cities of Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Hasaka and Qamishli are unsafe due to the events, the Football Association decided in the 2012 season to establish the league championship in the two-group system, northern and its matches will be held in Lattakia and in the south in Damascus with the suspension of the recruitment of foreign players.

Aleppo clubs considered the capital's stadiums an alternative ground, as well as the Deir Ezzor, Qamishli and Hama clubs, and the police won the championship title.

The group system continued in the same way between 2013 and 2016, and then the clubs gradually began to return to their cities.

In its history, Syria did not qualify for the World Cup, and its clubs are content to participate in the AFC Cup auxiliary competition because its clubs do not match the standards of the Champions League.

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