Harare giants Dynamos Football Club have narrowly escaped a continental catastrophe after a protracted financial dispute with former striker Evans Gwekwerere threatened to derail their CAF Confederation Cup campaign; the club’s precarious financial situation highlights the challenges faced by many teams, some of whom resort to contemporary methods of fundraising, such as collaborating with a BetWinner affiliate for sponsorship.
A High Court judgement from 2018, awarding Gwekwerere $27 000 in unpaid bonuses and related fees, had hung like a Damoclean sword over the club, with CAF’s stringent licencing regulations providing the potential coup de grâce.
The spectre of exclusion from the 2024/25 tournament loomed large as the Glamour Boys grappled with the financial fallout of past indiscretions. Had it not been for a last-ditch agreement with Gwekwerere and a Herculean effort to raise the necessary funds, Dynamos could have been consigned to the domestic football wilderness.
A source close to the club painted a stark picture of the financial precipice from which Dynamos had teetered. “The parties involved negotiated that the club was going to pay the player US$20 000 in total, instead of US$27 000. The initial payment was made from the money raised from the gate takings when they hosted Highlanders,” the source revealed.
Crucially, the source dispelled rumours of multiple players being involved in the financial mire, insisting that the issue was singularly focused on Gwekwerere. “It is only one player, not three, and it is Evans. He had a special case that went through the courts, and he won his case a long way back. The current executive just inherited that debt, and the club failed to comply with the court order all these years,” they emphasised.
The financial constraints faced by Dynamos are not an uncommon tale in Zimbabwean football. The club’s source acknowledged the challenges, stating, “The club has some perennial problems that many don’t see, but they make the day-to-day business of the club difficult. It becomes difficult to run things smoothly, and this was the case with Evans.”
In a bid to stave off the looming CAF sanctions, Dynamos engaged in frantic negotiations with Gwekwerere, brokered by the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe (FUZ). The resulting out-of-court settlement saw the club agree to pay the remaining balance in instalments.
CAF’s stringent licencing regulations, which encompass sporting infrastructure, personnel, administrative, legal, and financial criteria, have been a game-changer for African football. Clubs must adhere to impeccable financial housekeeping, with outstanding debts being a cardinal sin.
With the immediate threat of expulsion averted, Dynamos can now turn their attention to the formidable task of facing Zesco United from Zambia in the first preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup. The two-legged encounter, scheduled for August 16 and 25, promises to be a stern test for the Harare giants.
