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wow, major shift and it's about time! No more rafts to Florida:
(CNN) -- Ever since the Cuban Revolution more than 50 years ago, athletes on the communist island have been able to garner gold medals and glory, but not big paychecks.
In a shift, the Cuban government says it will allow its athletes to play professionally abroad, ostensibly to shore up the competitiveness of its national teams. But it cannot be overlooked that lucrative contracts for Cuban athletes abroad would benefit the state through taxation.
Whether the new policy, announced through state media on Friday, will open a floodgate of talented Cuban athletes to the United States will have to be seen. Several obstacles stand to limit how much freedom athletes will actually have.
The new policy will be implemented in the coming months, the state-run Granma newspaper reported.
It follows an earlier opening by the Cuban government to let its boxers compete in the World Series of Boxing, a semipro league.
(CNN) -- Ever since the Cuban Revolution more than 50 years ago, athletes on the communist island have been able to garner gold medals and glory, but not big paychecks.
In a shift, the Cuban government says it will allow its athletes to play professionally abroad, ostensibly to shore up the competitiveness of its national teams. But it cannot be overlooked that lucrative contracts for Cuban athletes abroad would benefit the state through taxation.
Whether the new policy, announced through state media on Friday, will open a floodgate of talented Cuban athletes to the United States will have to be seen. Several obstacles stand to limit how much freedom athletes will actually have.
The new policy will be implemented in the coming months, the state-run Granma newspaper reported.
It follows an earlier opening by the Cuban government to let its boxers compete in the World Series of Boxing, a semipro league.
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