Officially, the start of Argentina’s Apertura is slated for Friday, August 14. The actual kick-off may be delayed several weeks, however, as a mounting debt crisis threatens to halt proceedings of that country’s spring championship.
River Plate, Independiente, Racing and San Lorenzo are among a handful of clubs that have been unable to pay players’ wages, according to Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona. A freeze in the transfer market has hampered the clubs’ abilities to raise funds, he says, and those clubs have been left with an acute cash shortage as the season approaches. Argentine footballers are unionized, and they may refuse to play if wages aren’t paid.
Transfers are the lifeblood of many South American clubs, and this year’s slow transfer market—caused in part by the global recession—has left many Argentinean and Brazilian outfits awash in debt.
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