Report raises concerns over players welfare
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Thursday December 15, 2016 18:00
The report was conducted in order to assist in understanding the state of the players’ welfare, its impact on the way the game is handled as well as how it impacts on the lives of players. According to FUB secretary general, Kgosana Masaseng, this was the biggest research project ever conducted by FIFPro.
He said the report has given evidence and confirms what they have known for a long time.
“Many players - more than 40% do not receive timely payment of their salaries, many face abusive practices such as forced training alone, forced transfers or contract renewals or are subject to violence and discrimination. But this report also for the first time shows the realities that our members face on the employment market short contracts (less than two years on average) and very differing levels of payment with 45% of participating players earning less than P2,000 a month,” he said. Masaseng said the same predicaments are faced by players across the continent.
The local survey was carried out between November last year and January 2016. It was conducted among 292 players across the 16 Premier League teams.
He said he recently had a chat with a Namibian friend who said there is currently no league in Namibia since sponsors have pulled out. The survey has shown that players in Botswana are often left to recover from injury without medical or financial assistance.
The report also reveals that half of the players surveyed were not satisfied with medical support from their clubs. “Forty percent do not have a copy of their contract, leaving them unprotected when things go wrong,” the report says.
Masaseng however told Mmegi Sport yesterday that they have since drawn up a new standard contract, which is now currently being used by the Premier League clubs. “We cannot have a situation whereby players are just fired or contracts terminated without any valid reasons. We cannot allow contracts that are not in line with football employment. We need to be on the lookout for products and services that can help our members,” Masaseng added.
He said on account of these statistics, they will meet with the Botswana Football Association and the Botswana Premier League to discuss the way forward on the matters that need urgent intervention. “We should have met already but we had another event so we are waiting for a date that will be suitable for all of us,” he said.