Football legend Moses Chunga has bemoaned the lack of appreciation for Zimbabwean football legends in the country.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The former Warriors captain is not happy with the way former footballers are treated and opines that it is one of the reasons why local football was struggling to grow.
He complained about a number of issues and revealed that the Warriors legends were each paid $3 000, while Barcelona legends received $50 000 per player following their match played in Harare in 2017.
The former Dynamos midfielder – who was part of the Zimbabwean football legends squad that also featured the likes of Madinda Ndlovu, Agent Sawu, Ronald Sibanda and Edelbert Dinha among several others said failure by stakeholders to recognise and appreciate their contribution is a big drawback for the game in the country.
“One of the reasons our game continues to lag behind is that we don’t recognise and appreciate the role our football legends played,” the Chapungu coach said.
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“For example, you can imagine we were paid a paltry US$3 000 each while the Barcelona legends went home with around US$50 000. These are issues that you as reporters should be highlighting because you fail to understand why we are treated differently like that. Even at stadiums, those that have played the game for the country struggle to enter to watch matches. You can even have dogs being unleashed on you,” lamented Chunga.
The match, which was funded by the government, was graced by some of the Barcelona stars of yesteryear: Patrick Kluivert, Rivaldo and Edgar Davids, among others and attracted a sell-out crowd. Chunga voiced his concern at the way former players even struggle to gain entry into local football matches.
Last year, former Warriors captain Benjani Mwaruwari had to use unorthodox means to get into Barbourfields Stadium to watch a match after he was denied free entry.