Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO giants Highlanders have terminated the contracts of Democratic Republic of Congo flops Tambwe Kalunga and Yves Ebabali with immediate effect.
The players, who saw little game time under Dutchman Erol Akbay, had penned two-year contracts and their deals were set to expire at the end of 2018, but the club resolved to terminate the relationship immediately, with no money owed to them.
“I can confirm that the club has reached a mutual agreement to terminate the one-year remaining contract of Kalunga Tambwe and Yves Ebabali,” said Highlanders chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube.
“The club remains committed to professional ethics and we will not discuss the details of the agreement we reached with the players, but to reiterate that we agreed on mutual termination and that the club wishes them the best in their future endeavours. We have no outstanding issues, financially or otherwise with the two players. We have done this for the good of the brand and we certainly think that it is good for the players too.”
He said the club will continue working towards its pre-season deadline of announcing incoming and outgoing players amid reports that junior product Ozias Zibande is on his way back to the club, while Rahman Kutsanzira was yet to agree on a contract extension, with reports already linking him to Total Caf Champions League representatives FC Platinum.
“As we work towards our pre-season deadline and as we inch towards the pre-season commencement, we will continue to avail information regarding incoming and outgoing players, but at this juncture those are the only ones that we can confirm,” said Dube.
Highlanders are also yet to appoint a technical team following the departure of Akbay, who ended the season with no substantive assistant coach after the resignation of Amini Soma-Phiri deep into the season.
The club is in talks with the legendary Madinda “Khathazile” Ndlovu to take the reins, but there hasn’t been any hint on who his assistant is likely to be.
Developmental side coach Melusi “Mabaleka” Sibanda was the interim assistant, but was not sitting on the technical bench during matches as he has no Caf A licence as required, while club legend Peter Nkomo was the goalkeepers’ coach, having taken over from Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu, who was reassigned to the juniors as a disciplinary measure.
“On the technical front, we are still tying up loose ends and we will also be giving details, but now we are not yet ready with those details and appeal for your patience,” Dube said.
Highlanders finished the 2017 season sixth; a massive 25 points behind league winners FC Platinum, after losing 13 games, which is a record in their Premiership history. — @skhumoyo2000
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