The news of the two marathon players who decided to defect and then stay in the United States 5-0 loss to Portland Timbers in Oregon he rocked Honduran football on Thursday. But the reasons for two catracho athletes to make this drastic decision go beyond the football problem.
The two players who left the purslane squad on American soil were the defender Carlos Perdomo (27 years old) and the young goalkeeper Luis Ortiz (23 years old).
Ortiz debuted the emeralds in March 2019 and began to develop into the owner of the target going forward, but decided to leave everything behind as the team fell short of its financial expectations and arrears.
Perdomo, for his part, said he was staying in Houston with the permission of the coaching staff, but will return to the country. However, Marathón said in a statement that it both “disobeyed internal rules” and will proceed to “inform the United States immigration authorities” and inform the TNAF “of the breach of its contract for the United States. corresponding legal consequences. “
They should not be convicted
What happened was a lot of criticism for both athletes in social networks, but for the sociologist Julio Navarro, representative of the UPNFM, asked not to condemn him for the determination they took.
“We should not be afraid and surprised that because they play on a football team in Honduras who are recognized as having a higher economic value of income, people are exempt from wanting to emigrate to the United States in search of better opportunities, the The truth is, No. At the moment most Honduran citizens still hold the idea that guaranteeing their lives, their survival, is unfortunately emigrating, ”said Navarro, a sociologist and representative of the UPNFM.
For Navarro, the idea of emigrating from Honduras is “transversal at generational and occupational level, so” we should not be surprised or condemned. Everyone must respect their desire to improve ”.
“It is a very individual position that they see; by taking advantage of a legal visit, they can look for other options by staying in the United States. We have to understand that it is a difficult situation that we Hondurans are going through.”
The sociologist indicates that the football player sees many opportunities on American soil, including football.
“It is a transversal ambition across the social fabric that exists in Honduras, because they don’t feel there is room for opportunities to survive, develop and support their families. good competitiveness., the United States is a good space to make a living. Not only at the professional football level but also at the amateur level we call in the bureaucratic country. Here in bureaucratic football they make good money, they work the week and play the weekend where they maintain an income of up to $ 500 per game over the weekend. These players should be understood and not judged, “he stressed.
Corruption, economic crisis and lack of vaccines are the triggers
The immigration issue in Honduras is deeply rooted in corruption, crime and a lack of opportunity.
Studies show that 300 Hondurans go out daily to travel some 2,500 kilometers in search of the ‘American dream’.
For most Honduran citizens, anything is better than staying in a country without much perspective, exhausted by economic despair and corruption, drug trafficking and criminal gangs. Added to this is the crisis caused by the hurricanes And Y Iota and the lack of vaccines.
All of this has led many to make the decision to leave the country in search of better opportunities and football players are no exception.
“What a poorer mentality we have, to make a bomb, that’s a lie and they don’t share that politicians are stealing so many millions in hospitals, that only 2,000 vaccines have arrived and that El Salvador has already taken the majority of the people on. the vaccination is “, shot Carlos Perdomo in their networks.
Salary, one of the problems in Honduran football
In Honduras there is a misconception that football players earn the best income. While some earn a good salary, the majority of beginner soccer players don’t earn that well.
This Clausura 2021 in Honduras, athletes from four clubs will only receive a salary from February 16 to April 25 (just over two months). Those who reach the finals (May 27) will earn another month.
“Footballers in Honduras no longer receive any income on the day they play the last game of the championship. Unlike other countries that have annual and independent contracts that end on June 15th and start on August 15th, they charge the same. pre-season starts and they pay him half, until the tournament starts, they pay him his full salary. But the perception is that football players are well paid because it is heard internationally that athletes get recognized good pay. Salaries in Honduras are very meager , and the career is very short, sometimes a young man does not have the patience to wait and stand out to play for another team that pays him well or plays abroad. “
Many ex-footballers have migrated north
After his retirement from football, there are many former players who have decided to start a new life in the United States.
“It’s nothing new. In Honduras, I remember earlier playing as Oscar García (Boniek’s father), Héctor Uclés and other players who stayed on an Olimpia tour in the United States. But they were already busy with their careers. “, Navarro recalls.
Most of those who decide to emigrate after hanging their boots work in construction during the week and play at the bureaucratic level for a few dollars on weekends.
History will keep repeating itself in Honduras as long as conditions, in this case of the footballers, don’t improve in the National League and that will only be linked to many country factors.
Footballers who have gone to the US are talking about the issue
The decision of Perdomo and Ortiz is not new in the Honduran sports field, as in Central America, young athletes have decided in recent years to give up their careers in search of a better future for their families, because in Honduras they were tired of little and earn more. with wage arrears.
“ Rather than criticizing them, people should understand that in the end football players in Honduras are not very different from other people in everyday life; there are teams that can make a difference like Real España, Olimpia and Motagua for economic power, the rest are practically fighters, ‘he started talking to them TEN Henry Martinez, Former Aurinegro striker who decided to leave football at the age of 30 and stay in the United States where he currently works in the construction industry.
“ And the reality I made the decision to come for is because I have been a reflection of the football player’s life in Honduras and I have responsibilities with the kids and the family 24/7 all year round, debts, rent , electricity, Internet, food is paid all the time and if we do numbers today in Honduras there is a salary cap and the one that wins best in a small team is 35 to 45 thousand lempiras, more or less in some cases, but in the year we play three and a half months per tournament, of which they pay you a month and for the others you have to fight to see if they pay them, ”he analyzed.
And he ends: “ Here I see the difference and like me there are a lot of footballers who made the decision, here life is difficult, we are not going to deny it and more so we who only worked in football for two hours and now we have to do it 10am, it’s 40-50 hours a week and I don’t have to fight with anyone to get paid, you just have to cash the check or the check they deposited, “said ‘Titi’ Henry.
Adán Ramírez, player who retired at the age of 26
One of the most talented football players Platense has had in recent times Adam Ramirez, who was selected a national U-23 and over and also ranks from the Motagua, Today, the player is 35 years old, lives in New Orleans and says it’s worth leaving football to head north, but he’s also making some reflections.
“The situation in the country is complicated and that of the clubs is also difficult and the decision they have made is because maybe there were late payments or they made little money, the fans need to understand that they come to this country to move forward with the family, “There are many footballers who have stayed here and we have done well,” says Ramírez.
“I decided to retire young because of the same situation, the economic issue was not good and I stayed at the age of 26, the level I had at the time was good, but I decided to fight for my family here and hopefully get these guys ahead, ”he wishes.
“It is easy to criticize them without knowing the player’s situation, in Honduras everything is expensive and I am sorry for the future of many promising young people that there is no such solvency in the country and in football and that it is difficult to improve it. ” he closed.