daniel chigunwe
Sports Reporter
SCOTTLAND players and coaches received bank notifications of the payment of their winning bonuses just a few minutes after the referee blew the whistle to confirm their first victory in the Castle Lager Premiership at Rufaro on Friday.
It’s part of an arrangement which Scottland have with their bankers, EcoBank, which ensures that the players’ winning bonuses are credited to their bank accounts within minutes of the victory having been confirmed.
Scottland edged Triangle 1-0 at Rufaro in a game in which the inspired visitors gave a good account of themselves before they fell to a last-gasp own goal.
It was a tense affair between two clubs who gained promotion into the top-flight league at the end of last season.
While Triangle, who have added Zimbabwe international Thabani Kamusoko into their ranks, went about their pre-season business quietly, Scottland dominated the headlines.
The expectation was that the All-Star Scottland side would crush Triangle but the visitors gave as much as they got and would have been full value for a point.
While many teams in the domestic Premiership do not pay their players winning bonuses until, at least, on the first Tuesday after the match, Scottland have taken a different approach.
The players were ordered to open accounts at EcoBank and the club arranged with the bank that the players and coaching staff would have their accounts credited with winning bonuses shortly after the match ended.
“That was the case on Friday,” a source told H-Metro.”
The winning bonuses were credited to the accounts of the players about 15 or so minutes after the game had ended.
“When you consider that the majority of the players spent about 30 minutes on the pitch after the match, it means that their winning bonuses had already been paid before they even reached the dressing room.
“The notifications of the payments was already on their phones and it should be a good feeling for many of the players given the challenges they have faced at some of their previous clubs where payment of winning bonuses was a real challenge.
“The whole idea is to try and make sure that the players remain focussed on playing football and winning games without having their concentration affected by issues to do with money.”
Given that they had also received their salaries earlier that morning, it turned out to be a very good Friday for the players and technical staff at Scottland after their win against Triangle.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter