A-League Wage Talks Include Salary Cap, Loan Fee Charges

The size of the A-League salary cap -- currently A$2.5M ($2M) -- and the way loan fees are treated will be "debated as the collective bargaining agreement talks intensify over the coming weeks," according to Michael Lynch of THE AGE. The CBA ends on June 30 and preliminary talks between the players' union, Professional Footballers Australia and Football Federation Australia "have taken place." Discussions are "likely to intensify during and after the finals series, especially given the Perth Glory salary cap cheating case" that will see the West Australians excluded from the finals. Some of the "ancillary provisions, including the way loan fees are treated, are set for debate." In season '13-14, they were "not included in the salary cap." Several clubs, including Melbourne Victory, "smartly exploited the provision and signed players on low wages, paying loan fees to their parent club who were then at liberty to pay top-up wages to their players who had been loaned out" to Australian clubs (THE AGE, 4/26).