CAPS FIGHT BACK

Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
THE CAPS United leadership came out guns blazing yesterday after the turbulence triggered by players who refused to train in protest over the delayed payment of their May salaries, claiming their camp had been infiltrated by detractors desperate to ensure the club doesn’t write any success stories.

The Green Machine directed their missiles at unnamed player agents, whom they accused of provoking chaos in their camp, by creating a fallout between the club’s leadership and the players to push for the movement of players from CAPS United, to other clubs, during the mid-season transfer window.

CAPS United said they could not understand how their delay to pay the May salaries by, just about two weeks, and winning bonuses for only one game, could trigger a boycott of training by their players in a league where other clubs were operating while carrying outstanding wages dating back to last year.

Club chairman Lewis Uriri conceded they were yet to pay the May salaries for their players and the winning bonus for the victory over Chicken Inn at Luveve in their last away match, but said the leadership advised the players this delay was inevitable owing to some issues that needed to be sorted out in terms of the mobilisation of resources.

“Several daily papers and online publications today (yesterday) carried stories related to the strike by CAPS United players,” Uriri said in a statement released last night.

“The thread that ran through all the publications is the alleged failure by CAPS United to meet its contractual obligations to the players. Some of the content was outright false, if not malicious. We reserve our rights in this regard (and) hereby set the record straight:

1. Our players are owed their salaries for May 2016. These were contractually due on or before the 30th of May 2016. We are 15 days out of time. This is regrettable. Our players were, however, advised that their May salaries would be paid between the 15th and 20th of June 2016. This advice was personally given by the Board Member Finance, the Board Member Development and CEO, the Board Member Operations and the Chairman of the Board at a meeting specially convened for this purpose at the end of April 2016.

2. We further reject as false and malicious allegations that we have not paid winning bonuses at all this season. Our team is owed winning bonuses for just one match, the away victory over Chicken Inn. The reasons for the slight delay this month have been fully explained.

3. CAPS United is a big institution. It is a national institution. It is a professional institution. We led the way in becoming the first team to employ professional footballers in Zimbabwe. We are one of the few teams that are on their way to total compliance with the FIFA and CAF Club Licensing requirements. We are one of the few teams that have offices of our own, a functional executive and board.

4. We are one of the few clubs that do not have a corporate sponsor that are 15 days late with just one month’s salary. Clubs that have corporate sponsors are way behind and are struggling. We raise each month, a total wage bill of over US$30 000 from outside football.

5. Some corporates do not pay half of what we do and some are still paying December 2015 salaries. The economic environment we are in is such that we ought to be commended for being fifteen days late with just one month salary with a firm undertaking to pay by the 20th of June 2016.

6. The fascination with us is not just because we are CAPS United, the pioneers of everything progressive in Zimbabwe football. There are those who for personal reasons, would want to derail our campaign. Then there are those that wish to target some of our key players during the forthcoming transfer window. We urge Fair Play. Then we have, even further, those player agents that have selfish ambitions to pursue — such as the one whose fixation with us (has) made all manner of wild promises to some of our players. For this, we reserve our rights.

7. Finally, we have the malcontents that have been unhappy with our demonstration of Ubuntu in respect of the DeMbare tragedy. Our investigations have revealed the dirty fingerprints of our detractors. When all is said and done, we urge Fair Play. We advise so-called player agents and managers meddling in our affairs to take note of the simple fact that the welfare of players generally and the beautiful sport of football is paramount.

8. We finally would wish to assure our supporters and stakeholders that, but for the foreign hand at play in our affairs, yesterday’s events would not have come to pass in the tight economic environment we find ourselves in.

9. The prevailing situation is being attended to. We will be fulfilling our Match Day 10 fixture away to Mutare City, not as a matter of form, but as substantive contenders. The professional men and women that constitute your Board and Executive will not be deterred from the pursuit of our dream of being African Champions by 2019. Our corporate world supporters, partners and well-wishers remain assured of our best attention and professional consideration in the days to come.”

CAPS United are the only club, owned by an individual, in the domestic Premiership and the Green Machine’s president Farai Jere, who returned home yesterday, said he had been disturbed by the developments at the team at a time when they were just two points off the pace in the championship race.

“It’s quite disturbing, especially considering the sacrifice that people are putting into the project, in these tough times, to ensure that we become successful and the big question I can only ask is how can a team, which hasn’t been paid for months, be sitting in such a strong position as we are right now in the championship race?

“It’s sad, very, very sad, but I guess that is the way our football is.”

This month marks a year since Jere assumed full control of CAPS United by acquiring 80 percent stake after the Green Machine had run into serious financial problems, including a revolt by the players who refused to fulfil only their third league match against How Mine, last year, over unpaid dues.

Coach Mark Harrison soon quit citing “damage to his personal and professional life occasioned by the unfortunate operating environment prior to ownership changes at the club,” with the Englishman saying his professionalism had been horribly compromised.

CAPS United have played 28 league matches, winning 12, drawing 12 and losing only four.

Since the ownership changes at the club, they have lost only one game at home — against Harare City in July last year — and have since recorded their first Harare Derby victory over bitter rivals Dynamos in seven years.

The Green Machine are just two points off the pace in the championship race.