Bruce Kangwa
Raymond Jaravaza, Sports Correspondent
FORMER Highlanders winger Bruce Kangwa has written off the $5 000 debt that the Bulawayo giants owed him in part signing on fees and outstanding salaries after his recent move to super-rich Tanzanian club Azam.
“We really appreciate the gesture by Bruce to write off the monies that we owed him. He indicated to us that Highlanders has done so much for him and he would not want to aggravate the financial situation at the club by demanding to be paid the money.
“This is the kind of appreciation we would like to see from Highlanders sons who have the team at heart even as the club is going through a difficult financial situation,” chief executive officer Ndumiso Gumede told journalists at a weekly press conference yesterday.
Kangwa’s move to Azam is as good as a done deal after Highlanders, Azam, the Tanzanian Football Federation and the Zimbabwe Football Association started the process known as Transfer Matching System (TMS).
TMS refers to an online system for registering player transfers between clubs in different leagues.
Details that are required in TMS include names of the clubs, the member associations, player details (date of birth, nationality, first and last names), type of transfer (permanent, loan, exchange) and the total transfer fee among other details.
“So many figures have been thrown around as signing on fees for Bruce. The other time we were told Azam would pay $15 000, the situation was made worse by his agent (George Deda) who took it upon himself to negotiate on behalf of the player without seeking authority from us. That was wrong.
“We have, however, made progress and the signing on fee is quite higher that the $15 000 that was talked about but it is still lower than what Bidvest paid for Knox (Mutizwa),” he said.
Meanwhile, the Bosso chief administrator has blamed police for failing to control club supporters who throw missiles onto the pitch, costing the club thousands of dollars in fines.
Bosso have been fined $4 000 after fans threw missiles into the pitch in two separate league matches against Harare City FC and CAPS United at Barbourfields Stadium.
Under PSL standing order rules and regulations a club that fails to control its supporters leading to pitch invasion or missile throwing is fined $2 000 for the offence.
Gumede believes the police can do more to curb the violence and bring the hooligans to book.
“We hire 60 police officers that include those in plain clothes but we are yet to witness a situation where police identify and arrest hooligans that throw missiles into the pitch to send a clear message that the perpetrators of violence will be fished out and prosecuted. All the police do is stand and watch yet they expect to be paid at the end of the match.
“We have already lost $4 000 as a result of the actions of these unruly elements and it’s hurting the club financially,” he said.