- The Peruvian Football Federation broke an agreement with player union SAFAP to shorten the length of the men's second division: Liga 2
- Many professional footballers in the league now have to look for other jobs in order to make a living and support their families
- FIFPRO spoke to two affected players: "There is a lot of concern"
By the sole decision of the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF), the situation of the players in Peru's Liga 2 is becoming increasingly critical: in 2025, the competition will last between six and seven months, depending on the sporting success of each team, and at the end of their participation, the players will be without a contract for a long period.
"It's at least five months in the air. Some players are lucky enough to be able to support themselves financially during those months, albeit with a lot of effort because it is also very difficult for them. But there are many others who have to do other things that have nothing to do with football in order to make up for the year and support themselves and their families," Damian Ismodes, striker for CD Universidad San Martin de Porres, tells FIFPRO.
"There is a lot of concern because the players feel that it is increasingly complicated to play in Liga 2. We are in a situation that puts you adrift."
Peruvian player union SAFAP had reached an agreement in 2024 with the FPF for Liga 2 to last nine months for all teams this year, plus one month of pre-season, as well as removing the age limit that established that each starting eleven had to have at least four U-23 players.
"The Federation unilaterally bypassed the agreement with SAFAP and once again made the tournament the way they wanted, never thinking about the players," laments Ismodes.
SAFAP denounced that the Liga 2 regulations for this year provide for 20 to 22 matches played per team, "half of what a professional footballer should compete in annually".
Diego Saffadi, a player at San Marcos, supports the claim: "This is something that seriously affects us and our families. Who lives on six months' wages? Besides, the contracts you sign say that they are valid until the end of the championship. If it's cut before that for whatever reason, it's over and you're out of luck. There is no clause that protects you for a minimum number of months."
Both Ismodes and Saffadi are among the 'privileged' players in the category: one for his 20 years as a professional, most of them in the Primera Division - even in Spanish football - the other for having finished his studies and having some of his own ventures. They are managing with increasing effort to make ends meet without being under the protection of a contract with a club.
But they do not want to look away from what is happening around them. "I'm convinced that 60 percent of the players in Liga 2 don't earn enough money to live on. The salaries are relatively low compared to those in Liga 1, plus the fact that we earn in (Peruvian) soles and not in (American) dollars. I have a team-mate who last year took a taxi to make ends meet," says Saffadi.
Ismodes adds: "If it's difficult for me, I can play at one of the serious clubs like San Martin de Porres, which gives us some facilities that not everyone else can. Imagine a 21 or 22 year old kid who has to support a family; not only does he have six months of work, but there are also clubs that don't pay them.
"There are a lot of players who have a part-time job so they can make up the money and support their family. These are guys who train in the morning and then go to other jobs so that at the weekend they have to get results. That's not being professional."
Playing informal tournaments for money on very precarious pitches in order to survive is the order of the day in the off months. Without the security of a contract, an injury can mean no work the following season.
"There are kids who play blitz tournaments on courts that are pure dirt. If you get injured, nobody will back you up," says Saffadi. "This year I didn't have a club until March and I played on my own because how do you stay in shape for so long if you can be out for up to six months? And I had a small injury. It was hard for me to come back and a couple of clubs said no because I was injured."
Beyond the other problems that players suffer in Liga 2 – such as several pitches that are not fit to host a professional match, precarious stadium facilities, journeys that can take up to 22 hours by bus and plane, television broadcasting that gives very little visibility to the players in the division – Ismodes and Saffadi agree that the duration of the tournament and contracts should be reviewed now.
As a minimum: that the FPF respects the agreement reached with SAFAP in 2024. As a maximum: that the contracts reach professional standards.
"A championship that is professional at FIFA level should be parallel to Liga 1 in our country, with 10 or 11 months of duration and one month of holidays," claims Ismodes.
Saffadi notes: "In order to be mentally and physically at 100 percent, you have to have the best conditions. But the reality is that we are like workers in a company. And in the end, the one who speaks up, the one who complains, is the first one who won't have a job the following year.
"That's how it works, but we have to find a way to be heard. The union is trying all the time because they know about it and they empathise with us as ex-players. They know what it's like to be on this side."
