The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
DYNAMOS’ most consistent player for the 2017 season Tichaona Chipunza, rising right back Peace Makaha and utility Obey Mwerahari will cease to be De- Mbare players as the rest of the country ushers in the new year tonight.
The injury-prone duo of Masimba Mambare and Carlos Rusere will also wake up as free agents tomorrow morning. Negotiations have to start also for exciting winger Cleopas Kapupurika, who was on a season-long loan from champions FC Platinum.
DeMbare are almost certain to lose top striker Christian Joel Epoupa, who has attracted interest from South Africa and beyond. It looks like it could be a sleepless New Year’s Eve for the Keni Mubaiwa-led DeMbare executive as the club once again grapples with the perennial issue of player contracts.
Mubaiwa and his executive are set to meet with coach Lloyd Mutasa on Tuesday, to map the way forward ahead of the 2018 season.
“The club executive will meet with the technical team after the New Year holiday to plan for the 2018 season. Yes, the issue of player contracts will be topical, but we are confident we will handle it smoothly. Dynamos is a big team which has to retain its best players,” said Mubaiwa.
However, it could prove difficult for DeMbare to convince the out-of-contract players to stay given that the club still owes its players thousands of dollars in bonus arrears.
At the close of the 2017 season, Dynamos players were reportedly owed bonuses from 14 matches (10 wins and four draws), which amounted to over $2 000 each. DeMbare paid $200 for a win and about $70 for a draw last season.
Other clubs have also kept a close watch on the developments at the Harare giants, with reports linking Players’ Player of the Year winner Chipunza with a move to Ngezi Platinum Stars. Ngezi want to replace Liberty Chakoroma, who is joining league champions FC Platinum.
Dynamos gaffer Mutasa is worried at the prospect of losing the core of a team that clinched a remarkable second place position in the 2017 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
“You can see that most of those players whose contracts expire on December 31 (today) formed the core of the team last season, so we would have taken steps backwards if we were to lose them,” moaned Mutasa.
“We are hoping that these players will be convinced to stay. They are bread winners at their houses, so the issue of money will come into play. My hope is that everything goes according to plan, the players get something to feed their families and the team moves on.”
On the positive side, skipper Ocean Mushure still has a running contract, Denver Mukamba is still a Dynamos player until June 2019 and so is goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga.
Godfrey “Marabha” Mukambi, Quality Kangadzi and Tawanda “Rabona” Macheke are some of the notable players still on the Dynamos books.
