PAY ME OR FACE FIFA – WANDERERS’ ADJA

MBABANE – “They terminate my contract then they must pay me. I got one year left with them.”

These are the words of former Mhlume Peacemakers foreign goalkeeper Innocent Adja Obodoi, who left the side to join hub giants  Manzini Wanderers last season. Adja signed a two-year contract with the ‘Weslians’ but after just one season, he was last Friday released by the club. He was among several other released big names like South African winger Sphamandla Dhlamini and former Mbabane Highlanders captain and central defender Jimoh Moses. “They informed us in a meeting today (last Friday) that we had been released because they can’t afford to pay our salaries. They owe me three months’ salary plus signing-on fee. The salary is around E30 000. Let’s see what happens, but as an international player I’ll go to FIFA.

Money

“I need my money,” Adja said when responding to questions by this author, but asked not to go into the signing-on figures. FIFA is an acronym for Federation of International Football Associations. Meanwhile, Adja said he was well aware of his rights as a player and under the circumstances, he would expect Wanderers to have paid him what was due to him and then terminate the contract than seeking an easy way out. Worth mentioning is that even last season, the hub side released nearly the whole squad and replaced it with new players. When they released their previous stars, the team owed them salaries for several months, but assured to settle its debts. It has happened again and the departing players are owed salaries for about three months. The team’s PRO and acting Management Committee (MC) Chairman, Mlungisi ‘Mluga’ Ndzinisa, did not answer his cellphone when sought for comment while also not responding to a text sent to him through WhatsApp.

Transfers

He had confirmed the player and others’ transfers last Friday as reported by our sister publication, the Eswatini News last Saturday. Meanwhile, if it happened that Wanderers were reported to FIFA or CAF (Confederation of African Football), the club would be compelled to pay the player or face suspension from CAF tournaments or the domestic league. It is a requirement that clubs provide their financial budgets annually to be given the licence to registration for the new season to avoid issues of unpaid salaries and failure to honour international matches.

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