BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA/FORTUNE MBELE CAPS United president Farai Jere has said his lads will fulfil their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash away to Highlanders on Sunday, despite boycotting training this week in protest over unpaid salaries and allowances.
The Green Machine, mired in cash flow problems, have not paid their players for the past two months. The situation resulted in players failing to report for training since Tuesday demanding their dues.
Yesterday, they did not turn up at their training ground — at Standard Chartered Sports Club in Avondale, Harare, insisting they would not make the trip to Bulawayo for the clash against rivals Highlanders.
However, Jere praised the players for showing large reserves of patience in the face of the financial challenges they are experiencing and insisted the team would make the trip to Bulawayo.
“What I can assure you is that the team will go to Bulawayo for the match against Highlanders. You know this is a special group of players. They are more focused than those we had before. They are doing very well and, of course, they have not been training. They are struggling financially because our financial situation is well known,” he said, pointing out that the players were well-informed about the financial situation.
“We are going through a difficult period. They (players) know where the money comes from and it’s unfortunate that those who are supposed to pay us have not done so, they also have their challenges. I had a meeting with the coach and captain, where I showed them the effort we have been putting in to ensure they get paid and they understand.”
Although their performance in the past six matches, in which they won three and drew a similar number of games, had given hope they would have a strong finish, the recurrence of financial challenges could hold them back.
They now sit in 12th place on the 18-team standings with 10 matches remaining in the league race.
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Highlanders, meanwhile, will be without defender Peter Muduhwa, who will be serving a suspension after accumulating three yellow cards.
The veteran defender was first cautioned last November when Highlanders played to a goalless draw against Ngezi Platinum Stars at Barbourfields Stadium and got the second in the 2-0 win over WhaWha in February, picking up his third yellow card in the 1-1 draw against Herentals at the National Sports Stadium two weeks ago.
And without his power and influence, Bosso are likely to struggle against Caps United, especially considering that they are still missing Andrew Tandi, who was injured in May against Dynamos. Midfielder Adrian Silla is also out injured.
But assistant coach Joel Luphahla remains confident, despite the setback as Bosso welcome back skipper Nqobizitha Masuku.
“We have got one suspension in our centre-back Peter (Muduhwa). He is not going to be available, but we are happy that we have got other players who are going to do the job … I don’t want to sound like a coach with excuses. He is one of our strongest defenders. It was going to be better if (Andrew) Tandi was here but also we don’t have him, but the players that are there can do a good job,” Luphahla said.
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