Bleak midwinter in Croatia

By Danijel Lijovic

The midwinter break in the Croatian First League, normally a frenzy of transfer activity, has been unusually quiet this season as the football recession bites.

Diminished hunger
No single player has left Croatia for pastures new and this is crippling many of the country's top clubs who have long relied on exporting local talent to more affluent leagues as a source of income. However, the lack of available funds across Europe and the fact the national team has performed poorly of late, has resulted in a diminished hunger for Croatian players.

Unpaid taxes
Not even the more prestigious teams, NK Dinamo Zagreb and HNK Hajduk Split, are in a position to spend as they, like all Croatian clubs, face significant financial problems because of unpaid taxes accrued over the past seven years.

Danger of bankruptcy
Dinamo and Hajduk are reportedly in debt to the tune of €23.6m between them, while NK Osijek (€6.4m in debt), NK Zagreb (€3m) and HNK Rijeka (€2.7m) are also struggling by Croatian standards. The Croatian government is determined to collect its debts and, as a result, the aforementioned clubs are in danger of bankruptcy, although not immediate danger as the government has given them a stay of execution.

March deadline
The clubs have until the end of March to avoid bankruptcy or they will face further financial penalties. "There is no doubt the debtors among soccer clubs will eventually have to pay what they owe within a reasonable period of time," the Croatian Football Federation general secretary, Zorislav Srebric, said.

Possible European ban
The leading sides, particularly Dinamo and Hajduk, are under increasing pressure to settle their debts quickly as under new UEFA rules, which come into effect next year, clubs have to meet criteria regarding solvency or they will not be eligible for European club competition in 2004/05.

Loophole possibility
There is hope, however, as teams look to make use of a loophole surrounding the terms relating to the ownership of clubs. "Clubs are currently organised as associations of citizens but the new sports bill, expected to enter the parliamentary procedure soon, should define them as sport shareholding companies," a Hajduk official said. "This would clear their ownership structure and make it easier to deal with the debt problem."

Time running out
"I hope the state will do its part to help resolve this situation. We do not have much time to prepare our clubs for the licensing regime required by UEFA," Srebric said.