Dauphins FC, l’école de football de l’ancien Lion Indomptable Libiih Thomas s’est vu rétabli dans ses droits par la FIFA. C’est que Panthrakikos ne voulait pas reverser au club formateur la part qui lui revient après le transfert de Steve Leo Beleck au club italien de Udinese.
Le transfert, qui a pourtant eu lieu à l’inter-saison 2010, a été d’un montant de un million d’euros.
Paulo Texeira, agent de joueur qui s’est occupé de la défense de Thomas Libiih et son club de formation auprès de la FIFA, résume le cas tel que suit:
FIFA URGE PANTHRAKIKOS TO PAY TRAINING COMPENSATION – 240.000 EUROS
by Paulo Teixeira on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 2:08pm
On 13 March 2011, FIFA Players Status Committee sent a letter urging an European club (Panthrakikos Komotini, Greece) to settle with an African club (Dauphins FC, Cameroun) the training compensation which regards to the player Steve Leo Beleck in accordance with FIFA Regulations, article 20 and Annexe 4.
This is certainly not an unique case, but in the akward relationship between rich countries and poor countries in so far as the football industry is concerned, this may turn to be a landmark.
Beleck, now 17, spent all his football life training and playing for the club (Dauphins FC) of the academy of his father, Thomas Libiih, a former Cameroun international midfielder who played in two World Cups (1990 and 1994) along with more famous names as Roger Milla and alikes. Libiih is a hard working man – from sunrise to sundown, he swallows the red dust of the grounds that surround the Yaoundé Stadium where, week in and week out, 300 black youngsters dream of a better life through football. Beleck was one of them.
In the summer 2009, Beleck was shipped away. The story says that he was spotted by a scout in one of those friendly matches that unemployed Cameroonians players arrange in the outskirts of Paris, in the hope of finding a club.
Beleck was taken to Greece for a trial. Panthrakikos, then in the Super League, decided to offer him a job and Beleck was registered as a TRAINEE on the last day of the transfer window (31.08.09). Amazingly, the Hellenic FA never requested the ITC – International Transfer Certificate – from Cameroun. All of a sudden, Leo Steve Beleck was stripped of his sporting past. A new career began at the age of 15. In January 2010, having made a massive impression, he signed his first professional contract, falling into article 20 of FIFA Regulations. Later in the summer, he was transfered to Udinese Calcio for an unconfirmed amount of 1.000.000 euros, opening a window for the so called solidarity contribution.
Dauphins FC wrote to the Greek club claiming his rights but its letters ended up in the dust bin. In October, he handed me the case. Four letter where sent to Panthrakikos, all remained unanswered. On the last day of 2010, I lodged a claim at FIFA for the amount of 240.000 euros, refering to 4 years training education at the rate of 60.000 euros, Panthrakikos belonging then to Category II.
The time for ‘buying time’ is over for Panthrakikos. We hope so, at least.
