Concacaf/FIFA has The Surinamese Major League officially recognized for the design of the Profleague in Suriname. The League works independently but has close collaboration with the Surinamese Football Association as an authority affiliated with Concacaf/FIFA.
Setting up the professional football professional competition where amateurism applies is stimulated by the two organizations to increase the level in the countries where this applies. The competition in the Suriname Major League was organized for the first time last season and the second competition year started quite recently. It has been agreed with World Football Association FIFA that a full professional competition will not start immediately, but that a four -year pilot will be carried out. In this trial period, the SML is still financially supported by FIFA/Concacaf.
The recognition of the Profleague in Suriname opens the road to meet the Concacaf conditions. For example, it has been announced that Robinhood as the national champion of Suriname can participate in the battle for the Caribbean Cup and Transvaal as semi-champion at the Concacaf Shield competitions. This would not have been possible without SML.
The recognition of the SML is only formality. There is still a long way to arrive at a full -time professional competition. Suriname hardly has a year of experience with a Profleague. The organization does not have to be ashamed of childhood diseases that had to and still have to be overcome. It will have to be worked on to reinforce the public interest of the past in competitions and also work must be done on increasing the game level. But there are so many more preconditions that have to be considered, of which an important part lies with the clubs, individual players and technical staff. For example, a full -time professional player has higher demands, among other things with training, a balanced diet, surprise doping control, lifestyle and so on.
The players of SML have individual not full professional contracts with the clubs. How this can best be adjusted during the four -year trial period. In a possible full professional contract there is no room for a part -time relationship, for players, nor the technical staff. The idea at the moment is that they will not easily give up a guaranteed permanent position. It is not possible to say how the pilot will gradually go.
Until the formal introduction of the Profleague, last year, most clubs have opted for a disguised form of payment of football players which could fall under semi-vocational football. A kind of expense allowance that was given, next to the main occupation. In addition, in that capacity, football players benefited from ‘generous’ club drivers who had a separate love for players from the club, without a contract. Extra material provisions were given to them individually as an extra appreciation for their efforts during a specific competition. With the introduction of the SML, the situation is now very different.
