Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MANICA Diamonds’ new owners have gone nuclear, asking to scrap the entire first team in the middle of the season after a player strike over four months of unpaid salaries.
Africa Minerals Ventures (AMV) have written to ZIFA and the Premier Soccer League seeking permission to disband the senior squad and replace it with juniors, a move that runs straight into league regulations and raises fresh questions about whether the club can even fulfil its next fixture.
The Mutare side, already rooted at the bottom, are now in real danger of failing to travel for their scheduled match against Hardrock at Green Fuel Arena in Chisumbanje.
At the centre of it is Thursday’s industrial action, players downing tools over outstanding salaries and allowances dating back more than four months, a crisis that has now escalated into a full-blown standoff between the dressing room and the new administration.
AMV say they stepped in and paid salary advances in good faith while finalising the takeover, but insist the response from the squad has left them with no option.
“We write to formally request the disbandment of the senior team of Manica Diamonds FC following recent developments that have made it impossible for us to continue supporting the current first-team structure,” reads part of the letter.
“As you may be aware, the senior players had initially refused to train due to outstanding salaries and signing-on fees owed by the previous owners.
“However, upon entering into an agreement last week to assume control of the club, we acted immediately and in good faith by paying all players and members of the technical team a salary advance while awaiting the finalisation of the club transfer process.”
The owners argue they moved quickly to professionalise the set-up, rolling out a residential camp, new kits, housing, gym equipment and improved working conditions within a week of arrival.
“For the first time this season, we placed the players in a full residential camp… secured five club houses for players and coaches… invested significant financial resources into the renovation of Sakubva Stadium,” the letter states.
They also promised a US$150 winning bonus and a gradual plan to clear inherited debts at US$2 000 per match.
But despite that, AMV say the players’ refusal to train signals a breakdown in trust.
“This conduct has demonstrated a breakdown in trust and a lack of professional commitment from the current senior team, making it untenable for us to continue investing significant resources into a structure that is unwilling to cooperate with the new vision for the club.”
Their solution is drastic, wipe out the senior team and rebuild using juniors integrated with their Division One structure.
“In light of these circumstances, we respectfully request that the senior team of Manica Diamonds FC be disbanded, and that approval be granted for the club’s junior team to be promoted and integrated… to form a new competitive structure.”
The problem is the rules don’t bend that way.
League regulations limit player registration to the transfer window, with a maximum of five additions allowed, meaning any mid-season rebuild of this scale is unlikely to pass without exceptional intervention.
That leaves Manica Diamonds caught in a storm of their own making, a club with new money, old debts, unhappy players and now a request that could shake the league if entertained.
And while the board talks long-term vision, the immediate reality is simpler, a team that may not even take the field this weekend.
