Auckland City's Club World Cup participation is a privilege with a price
The Auckland City defender left his job selling houses in New Zealand to take part in the Club World Cup, where the eventual champions will pocket a staggering US$125 million — while his semi-professional team plays on for pride and an appearance fee still under negotiation.
"My business runs on a commission basis only," Mitchell told Reuters on Thursday after his side's humbling 10-0 defeat to European giants Bayern Munich at the expanded Club World Cup.
"If I'm not back working, there's no income coming in. But a tournament like this, you have to be willing to make sacrifices and that's what a lot of us have done."
The Club World Cup's new, lucrative format has attracted criticism for its schedule congestion at the end of a long European season.
Mitchell and his teammates, many of whom work as teachers, delivery drivers, and tradesmen, are effectively paying out of their own pockets for the privilege of competing on this stage.
It is not just Mitchell's earnings that are taking a hit. New Zealand's labour laws typically grant around four to five weeks of annual leave per year — most of which, for Auckland's players, was already used up during last year's Oceania qualifying tournament.
"The players that went to the qualification for this tournament, well, we played in the Solomon Islands. That was three weeks," Mitchell explained.
"Some people have run out of annual leave. People are kind of in negative days and taking unpaid leave. So, it's nice for people to know the sacrifices we make to be here."
While the tournament offers prize money tiers based on performance, Auckland City, representing one of football's smallest confederations, will receive the lowest payout - a fraction of the $3.58 million meant for Oceania.
Even that amount, Mitchell noted, is still subject to ongoing negotiations between the club and New Zealand Football.
NO MERCY
On the pitch, the gulf between part-time semi-professionals and global superstars was on brutal display. Bayern Munich, ranked among the world's elite, named a starting 11 packed with internationals, showing no mercy en route to a double-digit victory.
"Conceding 10 goals isn't a nice feeling," Mitchell admitted. "But I think we have to realise the calibre of team and calibre of players we were up against.
"The fact that they did put their strongest team out and they didn't take the pedal off the metal at all. They just kept going and going and going, which, it's not great for us, but in a way that's a sign of respect."
The heavy defeat has not dampened spirits within the Auckland camp. With two more games to play in their group against Benfica and Boca Juniors, Mitchell said he and his teammates are determined to leave their mark.
"If you watched the (Bayern) game, you could see we never give up regardless of the scoreline," he said.
Back home, Mitchell juggles the demands of a commission-based real estate job with evening training sessions and coaching duties at the club. His typical day starts early, squeezing in gym sessions before work, and ends late at night after training.
"It's not ideal for my wife," he joked.
"I don't get to see her that often, but she really respects the fact that this is a sacrifice that we have to make and she also has to make.
"(For her) just seeing myself and the whole team on the stage and obviously against the best players in the world, I think it's a really proud moment."
Mitchell admits that while the financial hit stings, the exposure could pay off in other ways.
"Maybe if someone was watching on TV and they realised I was in the industry, maybe they just want to have a chat and that's the way you can build some rapport," he said.
To the critics who have questioned the inclusion of Auckland City in a competition of this scale, Mitchell remains unapologetic.
"We don't bother too much about critics. We've earned the right to be here. People have to realise we are semi-professionals, but we do treat training and we treat our club like a professional club, with the resources we have," said Mitchell, whose side face Benfica on Friday.
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