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Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter
DAYS after our sister publication Sunday News revealed that South Africa’s DStv Premiership side Kaizer Chiefs owed Zimbabwe’s former league champions Chicken Inn over Teenage Hadebe’s 2019 sale to Turkey’s Yeni Malatyaspor, both clubs have confirmed that it is now a settled matter after the intervention of Fifa.
Chiefs on Monday issued a statement stating “Kaizer Chiefs have fulfilled all the obligations in the transfer of Hadebe.”
Chicken Inn secretary general, Tavengwa Hara said they were happy that the Soweto giants have fulfilled their monetary obligation.
“The matter has been settled and we are happy,” said Hara.
Fifa reportedly instructed Kaizer Chiefs to pay R233 600 (US$13000) to Chicken Inn over the transfer of the towering Zimbabwe international.
The world football governing body’s tribunal had warned that Amakhosi were risking being banned from signing new players, either nationally or internationally, in three consecutive transfer windows if they had not paid the said amount.
Hadebe, who is now based in the United States of America (USA), joined the Soweto giants in 2017 with a clause in his contract stating that Chicken Inn would benefit financially if he is sold to another club.
As a result, the 2015 Zimbabwean champions filed a complaint to Fifa when they did not benefit from the player’s transfer to Yeni Malatyaspor.
Initially, indications were that Hadebe joined the Turkey club as a free agent. However, it was unearthed that Amakhosi had instead sold him, albeit for an undisclosed fee, something Amakhosi appear to be still denying despite settling the matter.
With the Zimbabwean side destined to get a sour deal in their case against Kaizer Chiefs following Hadebe’s move to Turkey, they had to approach the Fifa Players’ Status Committee, which handed down its judgment on November 8 2022.
The Makokoba-bred Hadebe, left Turkey in 2021 to secure a US$1, 8 million move in the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States where he is plying his trade with Houston Dynamo.
Hadebe made over 35 appearances for Kaizer Chiefs, including in the Caf Confederation Cup. – FungaiMuderere
Online Reporter