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Lawrence Moyo, Head Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Footballers Union of Zimbabwe successfully secured the registration of four players, who had terminated contracts with Bulawayo Chiefs and Black Rhinos over unpaid dues, but were barred from moving on during the mid-season transfer window.
Miguel Feldman and Nkosiyabo Masilela terminated their contracts with Bulawayo Chiefs to join Premier Soccer League rivals, Chicken Inn and TelOne respectively.
Leading striker Everson Feremba and Malvern Madzuka quit Black Rhinos to join Zifa Northern Region Soccer League title rivals, MWOS.
It took the intervention of FUZ to push Zifa to facilitate their registration with new clubs in yet another reminder that the local game needs a Dispute Resolution Chamber as per Fifa statutes.
The MWOS duo was in action in the second half of their midweek trip to PAM FC where they won 1-0 to move top of the NRSL league.
MWOS coach, Lloyd Mutasa was happy that he is now able to use the players they had identified as key to their title chase during the mid-season transfer window.
Mutasa believes he now has a solid squad to take care of business as they battle for the sole ticket into the Premiership.
“Getting these guys means we now have the people that we wanted to fight for the cause so its great news for our team. The squad is now good enough for the title race and we now have depth in every department.
“They came in as second half substitutes in our away game against PAM FC and they are now fully part parcel of the team. It was a great win considering that it took us back to the top of the league and being on top of the league means you have destiny in your own hands.
“Being on top of the log is important in that if all teams in the race achieve the same results from now on we will win the championship.
“Our next game is against Karoi United and it is going to be a tough encounter because they are the team that helped us reclaim the top position after they beat Black Rhinos who were on top going into the match.
“We have always said that every match you play in the Northern Region is like a cup final and we will have to treat it as such. With consistency, if we are to maintain our position, we will only stay on top if we win our matches,” said Mutasa.
Feldman and Masilela might start playing this weekend for their respective Premiership sides. FUZ outlined the issues that resulted in the four players terminating their contracts.
Under current football rules, a player who is owed a salary for at least two months is deemed to have just cause to terminate the contract, but on condition that he notifies the club in writing and gives them 15 days to remedy the breach.
“We had four cases, the first one was Miguel Feldman from Bulawayo Chiefs. He had a contract with Chiefs from July 18, 2023 to December 31, 2025. They agreed on a sign on fee of US$500 and a $200 in salary, but the club failed to honour the contract and failed to pay sign on fee and salaries for September-December 2023 and then March, April, May 2024.
“They were owing the player US$1 900 and the player got a default notice on the June 24 and gave club 15 days to remedy the breach. They did not do that and eventually the player terminated contract.
“We had Malvern Madzuka, who signed a contract with Black Rhinos on the 27th of February 2024, which was supposed to expire at on 31 December 2024. They agreed on a sign-on fee of US$2 000 that was not paid and also winning bonuses of US$40 per match, which were not paid for three of their games.
“So there was a total of US$2 120 that they owed the player and he ended up writing a default notice on the 8th of July. The club did not respond and did not remedy the breach and he eventually terminated the contract.
“We also had Everson Feremba, who had a contract with Black Rhinos from February 1, which was supposed to expire on December 31, 2024. He was on a sign-on fee of US$2 000, which wasn’t paid, while his salaries for March, April, May and June had a balance of US$50 for each month amounting to US$2 200. He also sent a default notice to the club, asking for the US$2 200 failure of which he would terminate the contract.
“He gave them 15 days and the club did not respond nor remedy the breach and he ended up terminating his contract.
“Finally, there was Nkosiyabo Masilela, who had a contract with Bulawayo Chiefs which was set to expire of December 31, 2025. They agreed on a sign-on fee of US$800 and a salary of US$200.
“The sign-on fee was not paid and the salary of March, April and May was not paid while they paid half of June salary.
“So they were owing the player US$1 500 and the player wrote a default notice on July 11th, giving them a 15-day notice after which he would terminate the contract.
“The club did not acknowledge the communication and he ended up terminating the contract on just cause. They then sought assistance to register with the new clubs they had secured.”
NRSL WEEK 25
Yesterday: Herentals Under-20 0-1 Cranborne Bullets
Today: MWOS v Karoi United (Ngoni); Black Rhinos v Shamva Mine (Commando); Ngezi Under-19 v PAM FC (Baobab); Black Mambas v Harare City (Mkushi Academy); Golden Eagles v DZ Royal Stars (Ellis Robbins).
Tomorrow: Norton Community v Chinhoyi Stars (Ngoni); Agama FC v Zambezi G and C (Pfura); CCLEE Mhangura v Banket United (Mhangura Mine); Scottland v Trojan Stars (Heart Stadium)
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