The Zimbabwe Players living in poverty

In this article I will focus on the players who ply their trade in lower leagues fighting for promotion to the Premier League.

They are said to be playing in these leagues because their perfomance and quality is not ready and suitable for the Premier League.

Some of these players are still developing and in school ranging between 18-24 years. I often get contacted by these players looking for a club in these divisions or Premier League as some are out of school.

There is one problem they always talk about when they get in touch. I ask them why they are leaving the club? I get the same answer all the time that players are not being paid. They are only paid paltry winning bonuses from $10-$40 depending with clubs as they cannot afford to pay them a salary.

Some are only given bus fares and nothing else for them to survive or buy food and paying rent where they live. Some clubs house football players making it cheap for them to survive and play football with less stress of rent and transport.

Then you find some clubs in Zimbabwe who cannot afford to pay players, referees and even transport.
Now my argument is about these match fixing that has rocked our nation. With these vulnerable youngsters how will they survive with no money and the pressure from match fixers.

These games go unnoticed as they are sold day in day out. I recall Hartley Academy FC was leading with the prospects of getting promotion but the other teams Masvingo and Mutare City must have done something to win those penniless games at the expense of other teams.

Meanwhile at the bottom you had Ruwa Gunners and Stargill who were busy donating points to other teams with no much competition. Its sad to know that Division One teams can throw games away as part of their sponsorship as several clubs are failing to meet their budgetary requirements to operate. This is an area where Zifa needs to look at and forensic audit these clubs because they will still fail to survive in the Premier League because their budget was null and void.

Some players have school fees paid for as part of their salary and only get winning bonuses as pocket money.

Are the salaries of Premier League players increasing?

What is the average salary in other English professional football leagues?

The difference in salary between the Premier League and lower leagues is very big. In the Championship the average salary is between £4.000 and £5.000 a week. The top players in the Championship earn around £8.000 to £9.000 a week. The average salary in League One is between  £1.700 and £2.500, and in League Two it's between £1.300 and £1.500.

Zimbabwe Football Division One clubs are not doing enough in paying our future talent.

In South Africa's National Footbal Division players earn as low as R500 per week making it difficult to survive and pay bills as compared to their European counterparts.

So now that these ex footballers are being investigated, Zifa must also monitor these leagues as they can focus on these ones as they are financially vulnerable.

Lord Morris Kakunguwo,UK Based Zimbabwe Football Philosopher, Founder and CEO of Zimbabwe Football Development Academy-Centre of Football Excellence 2014, and iTouch Football brand Guru. He writes in his capacity as a passionate coach. I appreciate your Comments and Feedback on email   lordmore2002@yahoo.co.uk.