Moorosi Tsiane
ELSEWHERE in this newspaper we carry a story of Bantu defender, Motlomelo Mkhwanazi who, following a short unsuccessful stint with the GladAfrica Championship side Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) was forced to return home.
Mkhwanazi had joined TTM on the back of an outstanding season with A Matšo Matebele in 2018/19 where he was a pillar in James Madidilane’s team which advanced beyond the first round of the CAF Champions League after knocking out Township Rollers of Botswana.
Like many Basotho players who have tried their luck in foreign leagues, Mkhwanazi had to come back home after encountering some problems at his new side. He claims he was unpaid for three months. The Maputsoe born defender also says he did not receive his signing on fees.
TTM has made news in South Africa for the past week after the management said they were selling its GladAfrica League status.
From my interview Mkhwanazi, I picked that he encountered some unexpected pitfalls after excitement got the better of him. This is why he signed for the “wrong” team.
The wisdom of the old suggests that if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is a mirage.
Unfortunately, Mkhwanazi was a victim of this. TTM had offered Bantu a whopping M100 000 for his services and it was alleged that they promised the defender a lucrative offer as well and I think this is why he failed to scrutinise the deal before singing.
My advice to local players is that they must always do some background checks on teams before they sign anything. That will ensure that they would be safe if things go south.
I remember Litšepe Marabe was also in a similar situation in Botswana during his spell with Flamingos Santos in 2011 and had to come back home after the team failed to live up to its promise and failed to pay him. The club was experiencing some financial challenges.
Marabe and Mkhwanazi are not the only local players who have encountered such problems in foreign teams. This is why it is imperative for them to join stable teams.
They must also ensure that they have reputable agents who will not neglect them when things turn sour.
It is every local player’s dream to one day play outside the country in better leagues but they must be extremely be careful and avoid being blinded by excitement.
Mkhwanazi’s experience should be a lesson to many of our players that not all that glitters is gold.
The good thing about the two; Mkhwanazi and Marabe is that they never let their experiences bring them down but rather, they came back home and fought their way back into the local football.