Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
FOOTBALLERS Union of Zimbabwe (Fuz) has embarked on a membership recruitment exercise targeting First Division players, with the aim of assisting them understand contracts.
Fuz vice-president Herbert Dick said they had noticed with concern over the years that most footballers in the semi-professional First Division leagues were working without contracts, resulting in rampant exploitation.
The Fuz team is presently in the Southern Region and is hoping to complete its tour of clubs tomorrow.
The tour started with a visit to Victoria Falls-based side Mosi Rovers on Monday, followed by a visit to Binga Pirates on Tuesday and yesterday they travelled to Bulawayo.
“Without mentioning names of clubs, what we’ve realised is that most Division One players don’t have contracts. For those with contracts, they are not aware of the contents of the contracts as they don’t have copies. Our visits as Fuz are meant to get these players to become members of the union so that when they encounter problems, we assist them.
“We were surprised that some footballers in Binga didn’t even know what Fuz is about, so this exercise is yielding positive results. We also want to establish relations with clubs so that when they encounter challenges with players that are members of Fuz, the organisation comes in to mediate,” Dick said.
He said in their visit to Binga, they also realised that the club was among a host of teams facing sponsorship challenges.
Binga Pirates don’t have salaries or allowances, with the “generous” business community occasionally chipping in to cater for referees’ fees as well as transport for their away games.
Besides Binga Pirates and Mosi Rovers, Fuz has met former Premiership side Hwange, ZPC Hwange, Talen Vision and CIWU.
They hope to visit FC Ratanang, Mountain Climbers, Indosakusa, Casmyn, Emakhandeni Pirates and Indlovu Iyanyathela today and tomorrow.
Dick said some players were joining the union as individuals.
“Our appeal to clubs is for them to open their doors to Fuz, get to understand what Fuz is all about because we need each other. Whenever we visit clubs, we first have meetings with their executive members so that they understand the purpose of Fuz’s visit. Hopefully, in future we won’t struggle to have access to players with clubs opening their doors for us,” said Dick.
Fuz also gave players portable bags for their training equipment, boots, socks, shin guards and a kit. They also donated reusable face masks to every club they visited. – @ZililoR
Online Reporter