Although the 2022-2023 professional soccer championship came to a close on June 25, some clubs are still reeling from unpaid wages and breaches of contract. While the UNFPB has set itself up as the defender of players’ interests, the ousted coaches have turned to FIFA.
In Benin, the vacations of some players and coaches are punctuated by life without pay or abusive breach of contract. A dozen clubs have been singled out as debtors to their players.The best-known case is that of Jeunesse Sportive de Ouidah, whose eight players who left to claim 4 months’ unpaid salary and 4 match bonuses from the partner company were held in police custody during the night of June 29-30, 2023, before finally being released. Of course, the situation is no stranger to informed observers, as throughout the Super Ligue Pro, the mythical clubs Dragons FC, Requins FC and Buffles FC have been rocked by problems of employee salary payments.
The Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels du Bénin (National Union of Professional Footballers of Benin) is heavily involved in defending the interests of its players. In the case of JSO, the union has lodged a complaint with the Director General of Labor. In the dock are Innocent Atindehou and Rodrigue Guezodje, respectively president of JSO and representative of Canal Sports S.A., the club’s management company.“During the championship, injured or sick players are left out, trampling on points 5.2 and 5.3 of article 5 of the said contract.Also, for having gone on strike to claim their wages, they have suffered salary deductions.We denounce this state of affairs and call on the Labour Department to take the matter into its own hands to ensure that justice is done”, reads the complaint signed by Romuald Boco, former Benin international and president of UNFPB.
The union would even go so far as to refer the situation to the International Federation of Professional Footballers’ Associations (FIFPro). “In reality, we’re not ready yet in Benin. The championship is over, so why not pay the players? Other clubs have waited for state subsidies and now they’ve started running. When you see the living conditions at the JSO, it’s pitiful,” Iskil Gambari, the union’s deputy organizing delegate, tells Sport News Africa.
FIFA brings justice to coaches dismissed without just cause
Tiasse Koné, goalkeeper coach at OFMAD-SAD FC, has taken his case to the FIFA Football Court. Ruling on the dispute, the Players’ Status Division ordered Ofmas Sad FC to “pay 6,800,000 FCFA (10.3 thousand euros) in compensation to the Ivorian coach for breach of contract without just cause within 45 days”.
The club also risks a ban on recruiting players and a transfer of the case to the FIFA committee if the above-mentioned deadline is not met.Following in Tiasse Koné’s footsteps, Yelato Silué, another Ivorian who took over at Requins FC at the end of the season, also lodged a complaint. “The complaint has been lodged with FIFA for unilateral breach of contract,” Mawuli Avorgah, legal representative of coach Yelato Silué, told Sport News Africa.
The Red and White could be condemned by FIFA if the club’s arguments to justify the dismissal are not convincing. While the club has been given a July 16 deadline to justify itself, “the present case should be submitted, if need be, to the Football Tribunal, during the week of September 14, 2023”, the Player Status Chamber notified both parties in its correspondence dated June 26, 2023.
