DEMBARE HOUSE ON FIRE AGAIN

Tadious Manyepo

Sports Reporter

TURBULENT Dynamos had their house on fire again yesterday, with players once again downing tools, protesting and pressing for payment of their outstanding bonuses.

They are also demanding that their outstanding sign-on fees be settled.

Ironically, the timing of the latest in a string of strike actions to hit Dynamos comes ahead of their key Chibuku Super Cup semi-final showdown with unpredictable Manica Diamonds at Rufaro on Sunday.

Yet success in the Chibuku Super Cup will mean Dynamos would not only atone for a disappointing league campaign, but will guarantee them a quick return to the CAF Confederation Cup next year.

Winners of the Chibuku Super Cup represent the country in the CAF inter-club second-tier competition with the Premiership kings getting the ticket to the Champions League.

But with Dynamos languishing in ninth place on the league table, their only hope for some silverware this year lies in winning the Chibuku Super Cup.

However, the players were in no mood to focus on all those possibilities as they wanted their outstanding dues to be paid before they can go into battle with Manica Diamonds.

The players arrived at their training ground at Alex Sports Club in the morning, and changed into their training gear but would not partake in their drills after they told coach Lloyd Chigowe that they would not do any session until they had received their money.

They claim that they are owed winning bonuses amounting to $500 each and they are determined to continue with the industrial action until the Dynamos management settles the debts.

Players who spoke to Zimpapers Sports Hub on condition of anonymity yesterday painted a gloomy situation and said they wanted out of the Glamour Boys.

“The situation is really bad at the team. You agree this today with the team and tomorrow it’s something else.

“There is no professionalism within that divided executive and they are killing the club,” said one senior player.

“We agreed to get winning bonuses after matches but that has not been happening.

“They are taking us for granted but all we can say is we will not perform our duties if they do not honour their end of the deal.

“They owe us not only winning bonuses but sign-on fees for some of us have not been paid.”

That Dynamos were downing tools for non-payment of US$500 on a day Scottland players were raking in an extra US$1 000 each for the five goals they plundered in a 5-1 demolition of DZ Royals in a Division One league game, puts into perspective how much DeMbare have fallen.

However, Dynamos executive chairman Moses Maunganidze allayed fears that his side may fail to fulfill their game against Manica Diamonds insisting that they had immediately begun engaging the players, “the moment that the coach indicated that they had refused to train’’.

The Harare business executive admitted that Dynamos were still to pay their players who have been battling against low morale for much of this season.

“Yes we owe the players winning bonuses for about five games,’’ Maunganidze said.

“However, the agreement was to pay them once-off at the end of the season.

“If you still remember, we paid them winning bonuses for the first half of the season in June-July as a once-off payment.

“Then we agreed with them to do the same for the second half of the season at the end of the term.

“We are shocked to see them staging a sit-in for a matter that we thought had been addressed.

“It’s unfortunate but as a team, we have since started talking to the players and the negotiations have been positive.

“We are sure they will resume duty tomorrow (today) since we have agreed to forge a way forward’’.

Maunganidze denied that Dynamos were also owing the players’ sign-on fees.

“Let me also put it on record that we don’t owe any player any sign-on fees as is being said. “We have cleared all those arrears save for those winning bonuses.”

DeMbare are the defending Chibuku Super Cup champions after they beat Ngezi Platinum in the final last year.

The glory gave them a ticket to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup where they have since crashed out.

And last week interim coach Lloyd “MaBlanyo” Chigowe reiterated the need for the Glamour Boys to be attentive in the Chibuku Super Cup.

“We have a chance to win the Chibuku Super Cup and we need to focus and concentrate,” he said.

“We will try by all means to defend the trophy and get another opportunity to represent Zimbabwe in the CAF Confederation Cup.”

Chigowe has, however, been pegged back on his plans with a false start to the semi-final preparations.