- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Waterhouse players Jomo Gordon (left), Irvino English (right), Damion Williams (centre) getting ready to restart after celebrating a goal against Village United at Waterhouse Mini Stadium earlier this month. They and their teammates might be asked to take a salary cut due to the club's financial burdens.
Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
WATERHOUSE Football Club will officially announce a three-million dollar three-year sponsorship from its long-time sponsor Tru-Juice tomorrow.
Despite this, a salary cut still looms on the horizon for the players, this as local clubs continue to struggle to make ends meet in the Wray and Nephew National Premier League.
Amidst the club's plans to celebrate Tru Juice's continued commitment prior to its colossal New Year's Day clash with league leaders Harbour View, will stand the hard cold fact that though gratefully accepted it is not enough to scratch the sur-
face of their financial woes.
"Tru Juice has been a sponsor of Waterhouse for the last three years. They and our other sponsors have been generous and in most cases where we fall short we can always talk to them," commented Waterhouse FC president Peter Hibbert.
"But in terms of adequacy it is not enough ... it is public knowledge that it costs most of the big premier league teams at least $15 million to participate, a $3million which involves cash, kind and other support would not last for even three months in a nine-month season," he pointed out.
Though not yet officially implemented, it has been rumoured that the club's reported tight financial constraints may force them to cut the salary of their players by as much as a 30 per cent margin.
"It has not yet been finalised. We really are trying to stretch what we have as much as we can, we have been developing a programme and these players have been with us," Hibbert explained.
Though any such move could be detrimental to the club's hopes of holding on to some of their key players, the president believes it (salary cut) is an evil which cannot be avoided.
NEED QUALITY PLAYERS
"To win a championship you need quality players and consistency and if you intend to be serious in this business a part of what you may have to deal with may be parting company with some players because of a stringent financial crunch," he said.
"While we do run a business, we realise that this is the only source of income for some of these players. We are a community-based club and we are trying to hold and stretch as far as we can," he explained.
