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Zimpapers Sports Hub
A THIRD of the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) season will be completed this afternoon and Soccer Star of the Year second runner-up Obriel Chirinda has been a notable absentee in the marathon.
He has been forced to watch from the terraces as his former Bulawayo neighbours Lynoth Chikuhwa and Never Rauzhi have enjoyed a good start to the season and are front-runners in the race for the Golden Boot.
Rauzhi has already proven a decent replacement for Chirinda at Bulawayo Chiefs and has already won the Castle Player of the Month title for April, while making the final of the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (FUZ)’s PSL Player of the Month for April, as voted by fellow players.
Bulawayo Chiefs have already moved on and the Chirinda era is now part of their past.
Yet, Chirinda appeared to have been destined for greater heights in the 2024 season after he narrowly missed out on the 2023 Golden Boot, something that can be blamed on a controversial scenario where domestic football continued while the senior national team, the Warriors, were in action.
That resulted in Chirinda missing a couple of Bulawayo Chiefs matches while on Warriors’ duty, allowing Ngezi Platinum’s Takunda Benhura to win it by one goal.
As the season ended, Chirinda was on demand and the sight of senior club officials jostling to get his mobile number at the Soccer Star of the Year banquet at the end of the season was a clear indication that he had played his last game for Bulawayo Chiefs.
Dynamos, who were building a squad for the 2024/2025 CAF Confederation Cup, were the first to make a move when it emerged that Bulawayo Chiefs had defaulted in paying Chirinda’s salary.
There were reports that Dynamos were advised by FUZ that Chirinda, whose contract was expiring on December 31, 2024, had become a free agent as a result of Bulawayo Chiefs’ failure to meet their contractual obligations.
Led by coach Genesis Mangombe, Dynamos are understood to have paid US$4 800 for “free agent” Chirinda’s signature in December and they were just waiting for January 1 to formalise everything.
Bulawayo Chiefs fought back and sought to reinforce the remaining one year on Chirinda’s contract by paying off what they owed the striker, which is reported to be US$1 200, or two months’ salary.
At this stage, Bulawayo Chiefs invited Dynamos for formal discussions on Chirinda, but DeMbare insisted they had already secured the player as a free agent, paid him his sign-on fee and did not need to engage another club.
That is when Ngezi Platinum moved in as they sought to strengthen their squad for the 2024/2025 CAF Champions League.
They secured Chirinda from Bulawayo Chiefs and reports say the deal was around US$18 000 and his papers were included among Ngezi Platinum players to be fielded in the Castle Challenge Cup against Dynamos.
It was at this stage that the PSL withheld Chirinda’s licence, amid protests from Dynamos, who had furnished the league with a valid contract they signed with the player in December last year.
Dynamos flexed their muscles and they wanted the player to engage them so that they could allow his move to Ngezi Platinum to go ahead.
Football experts note that Dynamos are only entitled to a US$4 800 refund from Chirinda. They cannot ask for compensation from a player who later decided against the contract he had signed in December.
On the field of play, Dynamos are desperate for goals and have managed just seven goals in nine matches — an average of less than a goal per match — a statistic they had hoped to avoid with Chirinda leading their attack.
That has made them angrier in the Chirinda saga and based on social media comments, DeMbare fans are also happy that the striker is grounded, with some wishing that he is sidelined for the entire season he was supposed to feature for them.
Although they are being considered partly to blame by allegedly advising Dynamos that Chirinda had automatically become a free agent after Bulawayo Chiefs failed to honour part of their contractual obligations, FUZ have been battling to get the footballer to play for Ngezi Platinum Stars.
FUZ insist the PSL should not bar Chirinda from playing for Ngezi Platinum Stars until ZIFA make a ruling on his status because the league has no jurisdiction on players’ status.
They argue that Dynamos, as an aggrieved party, needed to approach ZIFA with a complaint and the national association’s Player Status Committee would then determine where he belongs.
They have written numerous letters, some with ultimatums, since March, but nothing has moved.
FUZ say by withholding the licence, PSL have already decided the outcome of the case, which is fundamentally against the principles of natural justice.
PSL insist they do not take instructions from FUZ. On the other hand, at ZIFA, there are no structures to deal with the matter, amid accusations that the Normalisation Committee led by Lincoln Mutasa is trying to micro-manage football.
The only notable committee in existence at the moment is the First Instance Board (FIB), which is headed by long-serving administrator Sharif Mussa.
Even the FIB was set up very late and this resulted in the start of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League being delayed by at least one week as venues needed inspection and approval.
Mussa had to use his own funds in some instances to ensure they had covered all venues within the shortest possible time.
A player status committee is important in the Chirinda case as he cannot even approach the Court of Arbitration for Sport as he needs to have exhausted all the available local avenues.
While there is no public confirmation of the existence of a player status committee, ZIFA’s eventual response to FUZ claimed they had forwarded Chirinda’s matter there and dates would be communicated.
It has been two weeks now and FUZ are still to be contacted.
A follow-up letter to ZIFA, which sought to argue that a matter can only be referred to a player status committee when there is an official claim of a dispute by a club, had not been responded to more than a week after its delivery.
This has led to other unanswered questions: Who is the official complainant against Chirinda and will the football star ever return to the playing field?
Online Reporter