Nomads players protest pay-cut
It never rains but pours for Be Forward Wanderers players as their Japanese sponsors Be Forward Limited have effected a further 10 percent salary cut, making it 60 percent in total.
The decision has not gone down well with the players who have protested the move.
In an interview yesterday, the Lali Lubani Road outfit’s captain Alfred Manyozo Jnr said players have agreed not to accept their June salaries until the issue is resolved.
He said: “I received a phone call yesterday [Monday] from our team manager informing me that our June salaries have been deducted by 60 percent and not 50 percent as was agreed with the executive committee.
“I informed my fellow players about the development and they asked me to inform our officials that they will not accept the salaries until this issue is resolved.
“It could have been better if they [officials] had communicated on the development before effecting the cut other than taking us by surprise. How are we going to pay for rentals? This is sad.”
Wanderers chairperson Symon Sikwese said the executive was equally taken by surprise by the development; hence, it was difficult for them to inform players in good time.
“We were also shocked to see that June salaries had been cut further by 10 percent. It is quite a challenging period for us since we don’t have any other source of revenue.
“Covering the gap with gate collections could have been an option, but unfortunately games are yet to kick-off [due to the Covid-19 pandemic],” said Sikwese.
Asked how they will handle the situation, he said the executive committee will meet to map the way forward.
In May this year, the Japanese reconditioned car dealer resolved to cut the club’s sponsorship by 50 percent and attributed it to effects of Covid-19.
The sponsorship coordinator Mike Butao at the time defended the cut, saying the sponsor’s business had taken a massive hit due to the pandemic.
He said: “Things are kind of tough in Japan now as there are no ships coming in and out of that country, meaning no sale of cars till the situation improves. It will take a long time for things to get back to normal and we will review the situation month by month.
