
- The captains' assembly, organised by Chilean player union SIFUP, voted unanimously at the end of December to go on strike
- The objective is to find a resolution to the points raised with the country’s football federation to improve the situation faced by footballers in Chile
- San Antonio Unido midfielder Ramon Fernandez explains the problems in Chile’s Segunda Division: "We have a lot of uncertainty"
Footballers in Chile are on strike indefinitely. The decision was taken unanimously at the assembly organised by the Union of Professional Footballers of Chile (SIFUP) at the end of December 2024 and the various reasons that led to the strike have not yet been resolved by the Chilean football federation (ANFP).
The calendar puts pressure on finding a solution: on Friday the Copa Chile starts, while on Saturday Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile will face each other for the Supercopa de Chile, the first highlight of Chilean football season. Both competitions will be played if SIFUP decides that the conditions are in place to lift the strike.
There are 11 points related to the 2025 season that the Chilean player union set out last November in a petition signed by all the captains for a better development of domestic football, although the definitive trigger for the current strike was the arbitrary and illegal decision to transform the Segunda Division – the third tier of Chilean football, the lowest in the professional ladder – into an under-23 category.
On 9 January, after Chile's Labour Directorate declared the measure ‘illegal and unconstitutional’ following SIFUP’s complaint, the 13 teams in the division agreed to eliminate the under-23 rule. But they sought to impose a new salary cap and a different age provision for this season: each team is obliged to field one U-20 player – a provision already in place in Chile for the three main divisions of men's football – plus five U-25s. In addition, there is the obligation of another U-20 player in the squad.
"We have a lot of uncertainty," Ramon Fernandez, an attacking midfielder with San Antonio Unido, who has had a long career in football – he turned 40 last December – told FIFPRO.
"I am one of the 49 players who have a valid contract and that, since the U-23 idea did not work out, we have not been left without a job. That's where we've won. But there are 300 or so players who don't have a club today and don't know what will become of them this season."
The new age group imposition could leave many of them out of the system as clubs need to fill the required U-25 places in their squads. "There will only be four or five places available for senior players. It's an unusual measure, a lack of respect for our careers, especially taking into account that 2024 was age-free and a very competitive category was achieved," said Fernandez.

The situation is aggravated by the fact the competition ended in October and, since then, none of them have been paid a salary. "I have a colleague who is working at the port while waiting to be hired or not. Or others who are in other jobs or looking for a job because the contract ends when the season ends. It is one of the points we discussed with ANFP through SIFUP. We are asking for 11-month contracts," explained Fernandez.
Another issue is the drop by 2025 in the amount of so-called Financial Fair Play, what clubs spend on transfers and contracts. "If this is confirmed, there will be players who will have to look for another job to make ends meet because, in all honesty, they won't be able to live and support their families just by playing. The aim is to keep last year's job."
Fernandez is clear about how much they depend on the support of the most popular clubs in the country: "The way to achieve things is for the players to stay united, we are the real protagonists. We depend on all of us staying aligned, but we trust in that and in the strength of SIFUP."
“What SIFUP is asking for is very fair” – Arturo Vidal
The assembly at the end of December saw the strike voted unanimously by the captains of teams in all three divisions. A few days before a key match such as the Supercopa de Chile final, with two giants such as Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile on the pitch, the players have remained firm.
"Everyone knows that in November SIFUP sent the list of things to improve and never got a response," said Colo Colo captain Esteban Pavez.
"Three weeks ago, we had a captains’ meeting about the four most important points to be solved now. The vote was unanimous that there would be a strike if that was not solved. At Colo Colo we don't have many problems, but one has to be empathetic. I played for a long time in Primera B (Chile’s second tier) and I know there are many things that are still happening today. There are players who are under contract for eight months, even seven months. If they get injured, they don't get paid for their recovery. There are things that need to be improved."

For his part, Chilean football legend Arturo Vidal, now at Colo Colo, said: "What SIFUP is asking for is very fair and ANFP has to accept that in order to start the championship, to start playing."
Vidal stressed the importance of starting to play for the commitments of his club and the Chilean national team in the near future but not at any cost: "The most important thing is that the problems are solved and that SIFUP comes to fruition."
The non-negotiable points for lifting the strike
While the November petition details 11 items to be accepted by ANFP, there are at least four that must be accepted immediately.
- Professional footballers' contracts cannot last only eight months;
- Injured players will continue to be paid in full by the club;
- The number of foreign players on the pitch for each club should be reduced to five in the Primera Division, with an agreement to a maximum of four in the future. In Primera B there should also be five and in Segunda Division, 3;
- Suspend any age limitation in the Segunda Division.
"The Supercopa final will not be played unless we reach an agreement with the points we have put on the table," Gamadiel Garcia stated last weekend.
"We want to find a solution to the conflict. We have proposed solutions and the Presidents' Council is the one that gives no response. That's why the players said no more."
Another mediation was held yesterday (Monday) with the Directorate of Labour and a commission of clubs in search of a positive resolution to the demands.