About the sad situation in ŽNK Osijek, which was revealed by the football players themselves, led by captain Maja Joščak, from Daruvarčan from Doljan, in a statement via the Facebook profile of Bijelo-plava birtija (read HERE), HUNS (Croatian Association ‘Football Union’) has also announced now.
He took the side of the players who are required to be professionals and have amateur incomes. The press release of HUNS is transmitted in its entirety:
The Croatian Football Association runs the First Croatian National League as a professional league, and according to the World Association of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO), a professional is any player who earns from football an amount of money that is sufficient to cover the basic needs of life (apartment, food, utilities , equipment, fuel).
HNS is obviously comfortable with women’s clubs being run as professional clubs as well as a league so that financial resources can be withdrawn from UEFA and FIFA, while on the other hand the conditions in the clubs are catastrophic.
According to the information about salaries in ZNK Osijek that the players publicly published in the media, judge for yourself whether it is enough to cover basic/minimum living expenses.
Soccer can be played on a meadow, with a rag ball, wooden goals, without referees, but it cannot be played without the main actors – soccer players! It is sad and shameful to talk about the amounts of premiums that the players received, it is below any level, because these same players promote their city Osijek, women’s football, their club and the country of Croatia.
The Croatian association ‘Football Union’, as an organization with more than 270 female footballers in its membership, expresses its support to its members from ŽNK Osijek and is at their disposal for all legal issues and assistance. We are in daily contact with our members in ZNK Osijek and we have the same goal and motive – greater and better rights and conditions for female soccer players. The Croatian association ‘Football Union’ will continue to work persistently to improve the status rights and conditions of female soccer players with an emphasis on the discriminatory position of female soccer players.
