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ZIMBABWE international goalkeeper, George Chigova, is without a job for the first time, since arriving in South Africa eight years ago.
But, the 29-year-old is likely to have a number of offers.
His contract with relegated Polokwane City ended when the South African Premiership came to a close at the weekend.
Chigova would have remained with the club, had they battled their way into the play-offs, which are currently underway, pending discussions between the two parties, for a possible extension of the contract.
However, Polokwane City finished bottom of the table and plunged into the second-tier league. Chigova was initially set to leave the Limpopo club at the end of June but had to negotiate a short-term deal, after the season, which was disrupted by Covid-19, was extended into this month.
In July Chigova said he could not discuss his future, insisting his sole focus was on helping the team avoid relegation.
As his contract was expiring at the end of June, Chigova penned a two-month deal to conclude the season with Polokwane.
This could mean the Zimbabwe keeper’s long-term future may lie away from Rise and Shine.
“The club wanted me to finish the season with them and that was also my wish, so I signed a two-month extension,’’ he said.
“The club is happy with me, I have been here for the past five years and I am happy to be here, so I accepted the deal to finish the season here.
“The fact that the club gave me two months shows that they love me, so I must continue to deliver on the pitch.
“Regarding the new deal, I don’t want to think about it now . . . It’s something I’ll entertain at the end of the season.”
Chigova joined Polokwane from SuperSport United in 2015, having arrived at Matsatsantsa from Dynamos in 2012.
“Polokwane have been good to me. I am enjoying everything here. But football is a game of growth and new opportunities, so let’s just see what happens at the end of the season.”
Already, the club have decided against keeping their coach Clinton Larsen for next season.
Larsen arrived at the club in December 2019, replacing Zlatko Krmpotic after he won only four of their first 12 games.
When Larsen took over Polokwane were 13th on the log just a single point above the relegation zone.
The club’s chief operations officer, Tincy Tema, confirmed the news.
“The meeting went well yesterday, so because of our situation both the club and the coach decided not to continue this journey,” Tema told KickOff.com.
“Which means in the next season when we are in the first division we won’t be having Clinton Larsen as our coach.”
Polokwane City’s relegation is going to hit them hard in their pocket. By being in the highest division, clubs receive a minimum of R30m per annum from the league, which is R2.5m monthly grants. In the GladAfrica Championship, the monthly grant is R500,000.
This also means they will have to sell some of their key players who were earning high salaries to adjust their budget.
Following their best finish in their seven-year stint in the top flight, a lot was expected from them this season and they showed signs of the previous seasons’ form as they were on top of the table for a few days.
But, they could not keep that going during the season and their relegation does not come as a surprise given their struggles for form.
In the beginning of the season, they won four of their first six matches, but the tables turned with nine defeats on the trot. The writing was on the wall already then. — Sports Reporter/Sowetan/Kick.Off.com
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