Blue Eagles boycott training, players owed bonuses
Some of the players for the Malawi Police Service (MPS) sponsored side Blue Eagles Football Club have raised complaints alleging that the team owes them unsubstantiated amount of money ranging from bonuses for about 20 games to upkeep allowances.
The players, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said some of the money owed is for games from second round of last season (2012/2013) TNM Super League and cup encounters and this year’s football season. They claim that the money is totaling to as many as 19 games.
“Life is becoming hard and you can imagine some of us have got families to look after. Despite on rare occasions that the management has tried to give us a little something, but still the number of games owed is just too much to bear,” said one of the senior players of the team in an interview with Nyasa Times.
Another key player added: “The team is performing well in the league and we have lost two games since we kicked-off in April. We just want management to bear with us because this brings down the morale of the players.”
Blue Eagles players get K15, 000 each as game bonus and the same amount as upkeep allowance. A source within the parameters of the team claimed that the problem is stemming from lack of funding to cater for the team.
“The team is failing to fend for itself due to monetary problems. Government allocation is not sufficient to support the team at the moment; hence the delay to pay the players their dues. But all in all, this is not a healthy situation,” said the Nyasa Times source.
Last year, the players also raised the alarm after the club delayed to pay them money from the Malawi Carlsberg Cup which they won after beating Escom United 2-1 in the final played at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.
Meanwhile, the players have started boycotting training and threaten not to kick the ball when they face Bullets this weekend.
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