Every last year and… better, every September the same anxiety, the same doubts. Superleague 2, the second-ranked professional division, is still between a rock and a hard place for another year, paying for past mistakes, wrong choices, but above all, PAE’s endless financial problems. “Drowning” in debt, from appeals from football players and pending court cases, most teams are unable to cope with the simplest requirements and are now looking for a way out so that the league starts, and does not lower the rolls, with their authority, while this situation continues, a fatal test .

Last year’s restructuring, with the takeover of the Football League and the creation of a single division divided into two groups, did not really bring results, although in general the project showed promise.

And if September 4 is indicated on the calendar, then the start schedule for September 11 has long been canceled in practice, as there are teams that have not even begun preparations, others have not received a participation certificate and are struggling to receive it, and still others start with restrictions on transfers due to for past debts.

“The category is on a big adventure with restructuring. As a thought, this was the right thing to do, with the proviso that over time the groups would be reduced and strict eligibility criteria introduced. However, the project was supported not by the state itself, but by those who should have, as a result of which it failed. Income has decreased and expenses have increased. Imagine that just for a letter of guarantee for the participation of the team, 150,000 euros are required out of 30,000 that were before last year, and for a share capital 350,000 euros out of 50,000,” said the President of PAE Chania and the President of the Chamber of Chania. Antonis Rokakis, tells “K”.

“Restructuring as an idea was correct, but the project was not supported by the state itself,” emphasizes “K” the president of the group.

The open fronts are countless: the television rights deal with ERT is not closed as public television offers a reduced contract (3.5 million from 4.5 million last year) and has not yet apportioned last year’s rating bonus of up to 1.2 A percentage of the bet (about 7 million euros) will be paid at the beginning of 2023 and while the money from the previous distribution is still due, there are dozens of player appeals, as well as disciplinary proceedings against referees against teams that remained unpaid, with debts exceeding 500,000 euros.

To understand the scale of the problem, in the best case, that is, when an agreement is reached with the ERT, and a percentage of the Bet is also given, 30 PAE corresponds to an amount of about 230,000 euros to “get out of season.

And all this despite the fact that a team without heads wants a minimum budget of about 800,000 euros for the composition and coaching staff.

“The conditions are extremely toxic for people who want to be in the classroom with serious intentions. What we’re going through, especially this year, is an absolute disintegration, and both the EPO and Super League 1, of which SL2 is a continuation, have a lot of responsibility for that.

In this ill-fated category, which now collects about 80% of Greek professional football players, since SL1 was filled by foreigners other than the state, the football institutions themselves are not interested,” emphasizes Mr. Rokakis.

Critical board of directors tomorrow

Tomorrow (13:00) the Little League has a board meeting. in which he will make decisions about the future. Everything points to the fact that the league will not start until the last decade of October. However, in order to have a compass, a draw may be held and a start date set with some teams that have yet to be determined. Diagoras, Xanthi, Heraklis, Herodotus, Ergotelis and Apollon Larissa did not receive a certificate of participation, while the EPO has not yet specified which team will be the fourth team to be promoted from the 3rd National League. However, despite the fact that there are voices for not even starting the championship due to weakness, the pressure is growing so that some solution can be found. About 950 Greek footballers and their families live off this category, and such a development would put them in a difficult position. Based on the available data, the groups were formed as follows: Group 1: Apollon L., Xanthi, AEL, Almopos, PAOK B’, PAO B’, Apollon P., Anagennisi K., Panserraikos, Iraklis, Thesprotos, Niki B., Macedonian, Veria. 2nd group: Chania, Ergotelis, Diagoras, Ierapetra, Egaleo, Episkopi, Kalamata, Kallithea, Herodotus, Kifisia, AEK B’, Olympiakos B’, Apollo See, Panachaiki, Proodeftius.