The Sunday Mail
Farai Jere
I wake up at 3am every day to do my academic studies and read the news.
Most of the newspapers have been carrying CAPS United stories and I often find myself wondering why.
Why are people interested in CAPS United of late?
The moment you walk with CAPS United you become tall, everyone starts seeing you, and we are proud of our brand.
It still has value.
Selling the club
It is always very interesting to hear people talk about us, but the long and short of it is, if there is anyone who thinks they have got the capacity or resources to run CAPS United, then they should come to me.
I also want people to understand the difference between someone who is broke and someone who is going through some challenges.
I cannot go out there and say I am selling CAPS United, but the people with the money to buy the club should come and say, “you have failed to run our club and we are taking over.”
They should come forward to my partner (Nhamo Tutisani) and say, “Guys, we want to take over and here is money on the table.”
That is what big guys do.
They put the money on the table.
People should be honest; they should not go to the press and try to excite people that they want to buy the team.
Rather, they should come forward and buy it.
As things stand, no one has ever approached me yet.
We do not discuss such issues in a pub.
This is a real business.
It is not a joke to run CAPS United.
You need about US$30 000 per month to run CAPS United.
Other administrators might tell you that is too much, and they are spending about US$5 000 per month, but there is a difference between Highlanders, Dynamos, CAPS United and other teams.
That is why we attract attention.
Salary issues
If you fail to pay a salary for one or two months, which is normal in this environment, it becomes an issue at CAPS United.
However, these things happen.
It happens elsewhere, but when CAPS United fail to pay two or three months’ salaries, it becomes news.
So, it is very sad that we are CAPS United and we attract a lot of interest.
It is also very unfortunate we do not have the money at the moment, and that it is affecting players.
But I think we have tried our best.
We owed these guys three months’ salary, which was for June, July and August.
Out of those three months, we paid them a month’s salary. We are also going to pay them today (Friday).
The players actually owe the club some money. These players owe us US$150 each for winning bonuses, which we overpaid them.
We had an arrangement in which we gave them money to cushion them and we would deduct the money later.
However, they have not been winning, and that is how they owe the club.
It was an arrangement between the club and the players.
Relegation fight
As far as I am concerned, these players are well-motivated for that.
When we are benchmarking, we look at what is happening at Dynamos and Highlanders.
Of the three clubs, CAPS United is actually paying more winning bonuses, and I can say this authoritatively.
So, what sort of motivation do they (players) want?
We are playing our part and they should also play theirs.
Fans labelling players mercenaries
Fans are not stupid.
They have the information and they live in the same community with these players, and 90 percent of the time they have correct facts.
The supporters are very intelligent and love their club, and they know when the club is at fault and when the players are also at fault.
If there is one club that is taking care of its players, it is us.
Player revolts
Some of these things have been perpetrated by one player who has not been given his signing-on fees and wants it to appear as if things are not well at the club.
Someone is pushing their personal interests through the group.
We are facing our own challenges, just like everyone else, and we are trying to make sure that these boys are well taken care of.
Some of them appreciate.
If you see someone like the captain (Phineas Bamusi) coming out and giving a public apology on the way his colleagues have let the club down, it shows he really means it.
We have done our part.
Even the contract of employment is very clear that you have a duty to deliver and I have a duty to pay you a salary.
If I do not have it that particular time, you still need to deliver because you are not going to write off what you were owed because you did not deliver your services.
As long as you expect that money, you have to perform or else resign and look for another club.
It is very simple!
Passion for CAPS United
I was not dragged to CAPS United; I came here by choice.
It is not everyone who can get into football, whether they have money or not.
What is very critical is your passion.
It is very sad that some people live their lives on earth and die without discovering their passions.
This (CAPS United) is a pure payment for my passion, and I enjoy it.
People have asked me a lot of questions about whether I am getting any return on investment.
I vividly remember this day when I was on a plane and someone sitting next to me asked whether I was getting anything from my investment in CAPS United.
The answer is simple: It is all about passion …
For me, CAPS United is how I spend my money, and I enjoy it.
Someone goes out of Harare with a group of people, they hire houseboats, but I have never heard people asking them how they are going to get that money back.
It is just a fulfilment of one’s passion.
Then there are some people who did not put money into football like I did, and I ask them how much savings they have in their accounts.
I can challenge a lot of people in Zimbabwe to see if any of them have in their accounts the US$14 million or US$15 million that I have put in CAPS United since 2004.
Cranborne Bullets strike
It was a deal that went wrong.
Players did not want to boycott that match, but it started as a joke.
Schools were opening on Tuesday, so there was talk that they wanted money to pay fees.
They all came to town with a clear indication that they wanted to play, but among them were clear influencers.
There are one or two players whose signing-on fees have not been paid because of how they got to the club, and they take such opportunities to express their grievances.
In the process of doing so, it affects the whole group.
You will never see a player who is on top of his game going on strike, but you will see those off-form players trying to drag everyone into their personal issues.
If you look at the time of the Lloyd Chitembwes in 1996, and even in 2004 and 2005, CAPS United went through a similar period.
Players would go for two months without salaries, but they were enjoying their game and looked forward to the next game.
CAPS United future
I want you to know that CAPS United – in case no one comes forward to buy this brand – will come back stronger.
We have a plan and we know where we are going with the CAPS United brand.
CAPS United president Farai Jere spoke to Don Makanyanga and Langton Nyakwenda in Harare last week.
