In a rare instance in Indian football, a club has received monetary compensation from FIFA for one of its player's long-term injury. The club in question is Kerala Blasters and the player is Sandesh Jhingan.
Jhingan missed the entire 2019-20 Indian Super League (ISL) season with a knee injury that he picked up during a practice match while playing for the India national team against NorthEast United ahead of the Blue Tigers' FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The 27-year-old twisted his knee in an off-the-ball incident, causing a rupture in his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and it was confirmed that the defender will be out of action for months.
This was a big blow for his employers Kerala Blasters who was preparing to head into the ISL season under the then coach Eelco Schattorie. Jhingan was a vital cog in the squad, the skipper and a massive fan-favourite.
He was also a well-paid member of the squad and the clubs are expected to take care of all the necessary expenses including his wages during the length of the contract regardless of whether the contracted player is fit to play or not after he is signed.
Some clubs also usually have contract insurances in place to cover emergency situations but in this particular case, the officials at Kerala Blasters, under the guidance of Director of Football Mohammed Rafik, knew their rights very well. The club received compensation from FIFA with the help of one of their protection plans.
ISL
What is the Club Protection Programme?
Blasters management made use of FIFA's Club Protection Programme (CPP) which is designed to provide compensation for football clubs if a contracted player gets injured while representing his association (in this case, the Indian national team) during the FIFA window of international matches and is ruled out for more than 28 consecutive days.
Under CPP, football clubs can claim compensation when their players pick up a long-term injury when they are away with their national team. The amount received will be based on the player's fixed salary mentioned in his contract and the maximum compensation clubs can get amounts to EUR 7,500,000 per football player per accident. The maximum of EUR 7,500,000 is calculated with a daily limit of up to EUR 20,548 which is payable for a maximum of 365 days.
How did Kerala Blasters proceed?
Blasters were aware of CPP and filed a claim request within 28 days from the date of the injury incident, as per the FIFA mandate. The player picked up the injury on October 9, 2019. The club filed for the claim on November 6 and received the first instalment of their compensation a year later. The club is compensated for the period that starts from the 29th day of the injury to the day he returns to training.
Claim requests under CPP are handled by a UK-based third-party administrator QuestGates. It is believed that the club sent them all the required documents including a copy of the player's contract and medical documents along with a calendar and day-to-day schedule of the player's treatment and rehabilitation, signed off on by the national team doctor following the nod from the Indian FA. The process also requires the player's signature at the time of filing the request but then after that, the communication is fully between the club and the administrator.
They received a sum of INR 70 lakh.
During a period when clubs are struggling with their finances, Kerala Blasters have made use of the FIFA policy that is still unknown to many Indian clubs. They are the first ISL club to pull this off and arguably the first Indian club to avail themselves of this benefit.
