Football
Adriana Garcia 7y

Argentina players' union threatens strike over unpaid wages

The Argentina players' union said they will go ahead with their plan to strike next weekend despite a government pledge to inject money in order to take care of unpaid wages.

The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) negotiated the deal with the government and on Monday published the upcoming fixtures as the first division is due to resume this weekend.

The competition had been set to restart on Feb. 5 but the financial problems led to the postponement.

A statement from the Argentina players' union (FAA) said: "The Argentine Footballers' Union (FAA) maintains its stance of not starting the second half of the tournaments in the professional categories organised by the AFA.

"The irresponsible executives of many clubs, responsible -- once more -- for the massive debt with the footballers, continue with their indolence and indifference, not responding to the claims."

The Argentinian government agreed on Friday to pour in $25 million to be distributed among the clubs. However, the FAA called for the strike hours later as it did not expect the clubs to pay the salaries that are owed to the players before the games got underway.

The AFA had been in negotiations with the government since last year in the hope of receiving financial assistance. Clubs have fallen behind in payments and owe up to four months to players, coaches and other staff.

In a general assembly on Friday, AFA voted in favour of accepting the government's payment.

The move by AFA allows for the government to rescind its contract with the country's football association to broadcast games under the "Futbol para Todos" (Football for All) programme, launched in 2009 by the previous administration

The AFA is currently studying offers from private companies to broadcast Argentina's top flight matches from the 2017-18 campaign.

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