Online Reporter
Innocent Kurira
WHY are Highlanders players only expected back in training next week after their latest boycott over four months of unpaid salaries?
That is the question hanging over Bosso after the players downed tools in protest over their outstanding wages.
The squad is now expected to return to the training ground next week, giving the club several days to deal with a situation that has once again put its financial problems under the spotlight.
But why next week?
Is the extended break simply a technical decision to allow the players and coaching staff to regroup, or is it directly linked to the salary standoff?
Could the club also be using the window to engage donors and sponsors as it looks for ways to settle the outstanding payments?
One Highlanders player, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the club knew the players would not report for training.
“The club knew that we were not going to train. This was not something that happened without their knowledge. They were aware of the players’ position and knew that we would not train.”
Highlanders chairman Kindman Ndlovu has acknowledged that the players are owed four months’ salaries and said the executive is engaging donors and sponsors in an effort to resolve the matter.
Ndlovu has also said the club is engaging the players to explain the situation and the efforts being made to address the outstanding payments.
The break therefore gives the executive a few more days to work on the salary crisis before the squad is expected back.
Whether that will be enough to ease tensions remains to be seen.
The timing is particularly significant, with Highlanders entering the decisive stretch of the season.
Their Chibuku Super Cup campaign remains alive after reaching the semi-finals, while the Premier Soccer League season is also nearing its conclusion.
For the coaching staff, the break offers an opportunity to prepare for the next phase of the campaign.
For the executive, it could prove equally important as it engages the players, donors and sponsors over the outstanding salaries.
The big question now is what happens before the players return.
Will they find a club that has made progress on the salary issue, or will the dispute continue to overshadow Bosso’s run-in?
Next week could provide the answer.
