Club Licensing fails to address pay disputes
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday July 16, 2022 06:00
But two seasons into the CAF-developed system, Club Licensing has failed to stem the tide with the Footballers Union of Botswana (FUB) indicating pay disputes are un-abating.
FUB secretary-general, Kgosana Masaseng told Mmegi Sport they had hoped the system will address the challenge. “We still think Club Licensing has not served its purpose from the player’s point of view in relation to payments of players. We still have teams, just in the ended season, that did not pay players for like eight months.
This has not been a remedy to the problem of overdue payables,” he said. Masaseng said Club Licensing have not been properly executed, which is why it has not been entirely effective. He said the National Dispute Resolution Chamber, which was formed to deal with players’ disputes, has been slow in solving cases. “To this day, it has made judgement on about five cases and not more.
Currently we sit with over 40 cases, from way back in 2017. So the judicial process within the game has failed players, over and above lack of adherence to laid down procedures and the available statutes that one can revoke to seek redress,” he said. Masaseng said it was a concern that Club Licensing had failed to serve its purpose. “We are equally worried that this looks like a pie in the sky.
It is yet to serve players. In relation to Club Lisensing, clubs acknowledge debt and get a licence but they don’t pay the player. It’s a recurring issue,” Masaseng said. He said instead of a decline, they have seen an increase in cases over pay disputes. He said there has been no audit of contracts, which is part of Club Licensing requirements. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) chief executive officer, Mfolo Mfolo said Club Licensing is expected to solve player-club pay disputes. “Ordinarily, the approach must be preventative.
The BFA and the FUB must collaborate and reach out to clubs so that they appreciate that it is wise to spend within their means,” he said. Mfolo said some clubs ‘cheat’ the system, which is why the issue persists. “The other thing is that some clubs present budgets, which ordinarily does not speak to their spending,” he added.