Newcastle United will be relieved to have go through the World Cup without any major injury worries - according to one of the top sports lawyers in the UK.
The Magpies will receive cash from the FIFA Benefits Programme in due course but Stephen Taylor Heath, head of sports law at JMW Solicitors has questioned the value of the scheme.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, Taylor Heath said: "The amount generated for Newcastle United would be a commercial consideration, but from a legal point of view, the relevant consideration would be as to how risk is managed.
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"Heading into the tournament, Newcastle United – like the majority of clubs – will have been more concerned with players getting back home injury free as opposed to the amount of money generated by attending the tournament.
"What would an injury to the likes of Callum Wilson be worth to Newcastle United in a race for a Champions League spot when compared to the estimated USD 910,000 the club will earn from players heading to Qatar?
"However, the club will have insurance provisions in place in relation to injuries, as will the players themselves in relation to career-ending injuries. Insurers may seek to exclude injuries that occur when a player is not playing for the club, so part of the insured risk may be passed to the FA which will have a policy in place with the club/player as a named beneficiary of the policy.
"FIFA also operates a Club Protection Programme which compensates for accidental injuries acquired on international duty that prevent the player playing for more than 28 days. For example, Liverpool would have been eligible for compensation when Joe Gomez was injured during England training in 2020.
"Ultimately, this scheme recognises that clubs have to carry on paying a player even when injured. While Newcastle United will be thankful none of the five players they had at the tournament returned home with an injury, the club would have been eligible to receive two sources of payment if a player took part and got injured.
"It is noted the general scheme is called a ‘benefits’ scheme indicating it is sharing some of the FIFA profits from the World Cup with the clubs, while the injury scheme is referred to as ‘compensation’ which is indicative of compensating a club for losses. It is not entirely clear whether FIFA would seek to set one payment off against the other if a club claimed under both schemes."
United used the World Cup break to strengthen ties in Saudi Arabia and Taylor Heath feels the time was used well. The head of sports law at JMW Solicitors said: "Newcastle United in theory will be playing the same number of matches this season as they would if the World Cup had been taking place at the end of the campaign so the straight answer would be that it makes no difference.
"Directors will say though that the break not only disrupts the playing schedule but also the club’s ability to leverage its commercial assets as the World Cup would normally be happening during the off season in the summer. Commercial partners will have been evaluating the impact of a hiatus in club football on the exposure of their partnerships - whether this will impact deals in the future remains to be seen.
"Commercial contracts may well have factored in the international break, but it is worth noting that the club will have had to pay wages to staff during a period where there were no domestic games which will have disrupted fixed-term contracts. Newcastle United were in a position to use the break to head to Saudi Arabia for a mid-season training camp, while the participation of a player at the World Cup in theory will increase the value of potential transfers – both incoming or outgoing.
"Several clubs used the opportunity to fit in mini tournaments or friendly fixtures overseas for which they will have received participation fees, effectively paying for any training camps and generating revenue through official travel packages for fans.
"In Newcastle United’s case, the club used the break to head to Saudi Arabia which will no doubt have strengthened ties with their ownership group and sponsors based in the country."
And when asked how much Newcastle can expect for say Callum Wilson for example - with the striker picking up a strain - Taylor Heath said: "Each player’s club has to register and apply online using the FIFA Professional Football Landscape Platform.
"The compensation is based on a day rate applied to the number of days a player was with their national team during the World Cup, in addition to an ‘official preparation period’. The programme outlines that it is equitable to reward clubs each player was at during the two-year qualifying period for the World Cup itself, so money generated by a single player may be split between teams in certain cases.
"Bruno Guimaraes joined last year in January for example, meaning Lyon are also entitled to receive some of the money he generated during the World Cup. It is worth noting that there is a finite cap on the programme at USD 209M to be paid out which is how a total of USD 10,000 per day has been calculated - this timeframe does not relate to the amount of minutes played so the total paid out for Harry Kane and Callum Wilson will be the same.
"Players reaching the quarter final are expected to be allocated USD 280,000 and finalists could be set to earn USD 370,000. FIFA will distribute the money to the national federations which then pass it onto the respective clubs, in addition to any further arrangements with the FA. "
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