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THE DeMbare family is having sleepless nights following reports their African Champions League prize money has been diverted by the government to fund “urgent national programmes”, among them the cholera epidemic.
Speculation over the “missing” money continued to mount throughout the week, much to the dismay of players who then unsuccessfully sought an audience with their management over the issue.
Dynamos are set to receive US$427 500 from the Confederation of African Football for reaching the semi-finals of this year’s Champions League.
But two weeks after Egyptian powerhouses El Ahly claimed the US$1million winners’ prize — and more than a month after losing to Cameroonian giants Cotonsport Garoua — the Zimbabwean champions are still to hear from the continental soccer governing body.
The development has caused much anxiety within the DeMbare camp, and reports the prize money was deposited into the club account almost a fortnight ago but cannot be withdrawn for some mysterious reasons has not helped matters.
But it has since been learnt CAF only disbursed half the prize money on Tuesday last week, with the rest set to be released towards the end of the year.
Standardsport has also established the US$213 000 was not credited into the Dynamos account, but a Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe account following instructions from the Zimbabwe Football Association “as a way of making sure the money is fully accounted for, and benefits the intended beneficiaries,” according to Zifa chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya.
Zifa’s precautions seem to have been prompted by reports DeMbare owe too many creditors who are waiting to swoop on the payout once it has been released by CAF, which would leave the players with virtually nothing.
Rushwaya said: “We received communication from CAF on Tuesday asking for banking details with regards the disbursement of Dynamos’ prize money. As a way of ensuring accountability, we instructed CAF to deposit the money into a CBZ account since Zifa will also receive a total US$22 500 from CAF according to the rules and regulations governing the Champions League competition.
“CAF also informed us they were transmitting about US$213 000, which is half the prize money, which they said should be reflecting (in that account) a day or two after our communication.
“We were also informed the rest of the money would be released by the end of the year once SPORTFIVE (a sporting agency which holds marketing and television rights to the competition) satisfied themselves that Dynamos had met all the marketing requirements governing the competition, such as those involving touchline advertising and clear footage of their matches from the local broadcaster.
"But we believe Dynamos did their part and we have indicated as much to Caf, and as an association, we also think we met our part of the deal by ensuring SPORTFIVE (TV) equipment was always cleared for matches on time. So we expect Dynamos to get the balance of the prize money without any problems.”
Rushwaya, meanwhile, said she was failing to establish whether the money was now available for collection because she could not get hold of the Dynamos leadership, in particular its chairman Patson Moyo, who was reportedly out of the country last week.
Club treasurer Clayton Charandura would not comment on the issue, insisting he has been busy at his workplace. He referred further questions to Moyo, whose mobile phone was continuously unreachable.
But the uncertainty surrounding the windfall has brought much anxiety within the Dynamos camp. Players fear they will enter the festive season without receiving the expected windfall.
“Some of us will have our contracts with Dynamos expiring at the end of the season and are thinking of moving on, so we cannot accept this talk about getting the money next year,” said a senior player who refused to be named.
By Lloyd Mutungamiri
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