Equity in soccer: the pros and cons of the salary cap proposal

Website design By BotEap.comThe gap between the rich and poor clubs has never been greater. The amount of money circulating in the game has never been greater. The number of gamers becoming instant billionaires buying fast cars and huge mansions has never been higher. However, the saddest thing is that the number of clubs that go under, especially those with a lot of prestige and history behind them, has never been greater.

Website design By BotEap.comThere is always something wrong with watching a football club, especially one that has full houses, struggle to break even and compete for a title. Just as the amount of money circulating has increased, so has the cost of staying in the game.

Website design By BotEap.comThese large wage increases put smaller and less wealthy clubs at a serious disadvantage in terms of title and championship contention. As a result, many of these clubs have been forced to place financial bets in order to attract good enough players to remain competitive. This has backfired on some clubs like Leeds United, which in the span of 5 years went from being in the semifinal of the Champions League to the English third division.

Website design By BotEap.comThe question remains, can this salary spiral be controlled so that it no longer harms the smaller clubs? The answer is yes, and in soccer it is being used only in 2 countries in the world: the United States and Australia. Both Major League Soccer and the A-League used what is known as a salary cap, which is a limit on how much a club can spend on player salaries annually.

Website design By BotEap.comThe main advantage of this system is that it ensures that each team is competitive regardless of their income and earnings. It ensures parity and fairness for players and keeps fans on the edge of their seats when it comes to fighting for the title as no one is ready.

Website design By BotEap.comThe main disadvantage of having a salary cap system is that it becomes very difficult for a club to retain its players. As a result, championship-winning teams rarely stay together for another season. This is exactly what happened when Melbourne Victory won 2006/07 in dominating fashion. The exodus of several players meant that Victory had a disastrous season in 2007/08. The salary cap is an even bigger disadvantage in soccer, especially if other leagues don’t have a salary cap. As a result, the best players and talent will be removed from salary-cap leagues, leaving fans with leftovers.

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, the risk of losing talent is no greater than the risk of losing clubs forever. While it can be a tragedy for clubs to lose star players due to a salary cap, it will surely ensure that fans still have a club to root for.