Dynamos Players go on Strike Over Unpaid Bonuses
Team manager Richard Chihoro says the protest has paralyzed preparations for their trip to the DRC
WASHINGTON DC — It never rains but it pours for Dynamos as the club’s players have gone on strike over unpaid bonuses ahead of a crucial CAF Champions League tie against AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A few days after failing to beat AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of Congo at home, the team's players have gone on strike over unpaid allowances and bonuses. The players on Tuesday morning refused to train over unpaid allowances in their three CAF Champions League matches, two against Mochudi Centre Chiefs of Botswana and last Saturday's game against AS Vita. Sources say the players have also not yet been paid their February salaries despite the club having received a three-year sponsorship extension from a local bank, Banc ABC. The players are understood to have informed the club's leadership that they will return to training only if they are paid what they are owed. The club's leadership is understood to have been running around trying to sort out the problem in a bid to avert disaster as the strike has come at the wrong time. The 1998 CAF Champions League finalists are scheduled to leave for the DRC on Wednesday for their second leg encounter against AS Vita. Although club chairman Keni Mubaiwa downplayed the strike saying it was a minor misunderstanding which they were trying to resolve, team manager Richard Chihoro said the protest has paralyzed preparations for their trip to the DRC. He said the team needed to train thoroughly as AS Vita rarely loses at home. Ironically, Chihoro himself had predicted at the start of the CAF competition that Dynamos would go far in the tournament. However, performances on the ground and the player strike suggest that this might not be the case. Mubaiwa claims the players' salaries have been deposited in their accounts, adding it was not the club's fault but that there has been a delay due to congested bank transfers. The timing of the strike also does not augur well for Mubaiwa, who this weekend is set to contest for the position of Premier Soccer League chairmanship, against incumbent Twine Phiri of Caps United.