Windfall for region’s clubs

Southern African football clubs could be in for a major financial windfall this winter after a huge shift by English clubs who have suddenly developed a massive interest in players from this region. The mega-rich English clubs have generally ignored players from this region with the last transfers of substance coming in 1996 when a host of South African stars moved to Britain. The last movement of a player from this region to an English Premiership club came four years ago when former Bafana Bafana captain Mbulelo Mabizela moved to Premiership side Tottenham Hotspurs.

Six years earlier a group of his countrymen had moved into English football with Lucas Radebe joining Leeds United in a partnership made in heaven. Radebe, who captained Bafana Bafana at the World Cup finals in 1998 and 2002, won a lot of admirers with his commitment to Leeds and performance on the field and was rewarded with a testimonial at Elland Road. Known as The Chief, Radebe also became the Leeds United skipper during his stay at Elland Road and has always been lauded as one of the greatest African players of his generation. Radebe moved to Leeds United alongside his Bafana Bafana teammate Phil "Chippa" Masinga who, however, did not last long in Yorkshire and moved to Italy. Mark Fish and Shaun Bartlett also moved, settling at Premiership side Charlton Athletic. The transfers of South African players to Europe also boosted the coffers of their local clubs who in turn then switched their attention to bringing some of the best African players into their league.

English clubs have generally signed players from Europe, especially France and the Netherlands with quite a number now also coming from South America. A number of Nigerians, notably Jay Jay Okocha, Celestine Babayaro and Yakubu, have also played in the English Premiership. During the last eight or so years most of the region's best players, especially the South Africans and the Angolans, have moved to Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France. The majority of the best players from others countries, notably Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia and Lesotho, have always moved to the South African Premiership. The English Premiership, with its rich clubs, have somehow ignored talent from this region. But all that is about to change. The signing of Zambian star forward Collins Mbesuma by English Premiership side Portsmouth last Tuesday was a milestone development in transfer dealings between the British clubs and players from this region. The 21-year-old Mbesuma, who scored 34 goals for South African glamour side Kaizer Chiefs last season, sas signed by Pompey subject to be issued with a work permit. He had been on trials at another English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers.

Chiefs' managing director Kaizer Motaung said Mbesuma had to move to Portsmouth because Bolton were dragging their feet. Bolton manager Sam Allardyce, who is well known for his love of African players and has given the chance to the likes of Okocha and Senegalese star El- Hadji Diouf to shine the Premiership, said he wanted to have another look at Mbesuma. But Motaung told the club's official website that he did not believe that a player of Mbesuma's calibre should be made to have trials for over a week. In an instant Mbesuma had packed his bags and left Lancashire for the south coast at Portsmouth. Mbesuma, nicknamed "The Hurricane" by Zambian fans and Ntofo Ntofo by Chiefs supporters, won last season's Player of the Year and Golden Boot awards in South Africa. His agent, Mike Makab, a respected South African football manager who represents a host of Zimbabwean players, told Portsmouth's official website that the deal was subject to Mbesuma getting a work permit. "There were no hard feelings with Bolton and the manager was great but they just wanted to look at Collins for three or four more days," said Makab.

"There was enough interest from other clubs for Collins. I think Pompey's gain will be a few other clubs' loss. "His record and the DVDs that they had, there was enough of his talent on show to simply do a deal." Mbesuma, who watched Pompey's pre-season friendly on Tuesday night, will replace Nigerian striker Yakubu in the forward-line if he gets a work permit. Yakubu moved from Pompey to Middlesborough in a 7 million pound move this winter. Portsmouth will pay about 500 000 pounds for the signature of Mbesuma. For Chiefs, who won the South African championship last year on the back of Mbesuma's goals, it is a massive financial windfall. Chiefs paid about R100 000 to sign Mbesuma from his Zambian club Roan United last winter. Mbesuma had originally been valued at about 1 million pounds if he had signed for Bolton Wanderers. The deal at Portsmouth means that Chiefs have made about 50 times more on the original buying price. Mbesuma has been the hottest property in African football this winter. His displays at international level have boosted Zambia's chances of a maiden appearance at next year's World Cup finals. The bulky forward's late winner in last month's 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Mali left Chipolopolo just a point behind Togo, the group leaders.

There are two matches to play in the group and Zambia will host Senegal in their next match. The next step is for Pompey to apply for the work permit and if that is granted the player will be applying for permission for his family to come to England. Mbesuma is from a poor family and grew in a mining town, Luanshya, in the Zambian Copperbelt. He has been compared to the legendary Zambian football star Kalusha Bwalya, his coach in the national team. "I went to see Mbesuma for myself and he was pure magic on the pitch," Charles Nshimbi, the managing director of Zambian Premiership side Kitwe United, told the South African magazine Soccer Life Four- Four-Two. "Within minutes I could tell that he was something special. In the last 30 years of Zambian football perhaps on Kalusha could match his ability. There are question marks over Mbesuma's discipline and he has had rows with Chiefs after coming late from international duty. While Chiefs could tolerate his indiscipline, English Premiership clubs follow a strict code. "Like many star players before him, Mbesuma has struggled to come to terms with his success," wrote Ponga Liwewe. "There have been disciplinary problems, with him often returning late from international duty and, like most in their youth, find the pull of nightlife alluring." Bwalya believes it was time his star player surrounded himself with the right people.

Which, he will certainly do in the English Premiership. Mbesuma is not only the only regional star bound for the British Isles. Zimbabwe international goalkeeper Energy Murambadoro is also having trials at Leeds United. Murambadoro quit Israeli club Bnnei Shaknin last November claiming that his security was under threat after a major fallout with the club's management. He has been clubless since then. Murambadoro has been Zimbabwe's first-choice goalkeeper since 2002. He is reported to be worth around 1 million pound, which would be a massive windfall for his club CAPS United if he makes the grade at Leeds United. "I believe that is the right direction that our football should be taking, exporting players to the major leagues," said local Premiership fixture-secretary Godfrey Japajapa. "For a long time we had the wrong focus with all the concentration zeroed on taking players to the South African Premiership. "We have since established that in terms of quality there is not a huge gap between South Africa and Zimbabwe and the only difference is that our counterparts have the money. "We have made strides in terms of securing sponsorship for our league but we definitely need more than sponsorship for us to reach the level of the South Africans. We need clubs with a lot of money, those that can sell players to Europe and reap huge rewards, for them to in turn woo some very good to play in our Premiership. "Our league can only get better, in terms of value, by bringing in some of the best players from around the region. "Just look at what Ian Bakala did for CAPS United last season and what guys like the late Webster Chikabala and Derby Mankinka have done for our football. "If we could have 10 guys as good as Bakala coming here every season I think we will have a very competitive league in this country." Amillion pounds (about Z$18 billion) windfall, for the sale of Murambadoro, would turn CAPS United into a professional club in the line of Chiefs and Pirates. "What that would mean is that CAPS United would be able to pay salaries and bonuses in the region of what Chiefs and Pirates pay and their best players would not look at crossing into South Africa.

"They would look at crossing into Europe, where the real money and real football is. It would a huge positive development for Zimbabwe football and we should pray that Murambadoro clinches the deal," said Japajapa. Murambadoro is not the only CAPS United player in Europe this winter. Zimbabwe Player of the Year Cephas Chimedza has already signed a deal with a Belgian club and has been in Brussels in the last two weeks. Raymond Undi, the CAPS United winger who made a huge impact on the domestic scene last year, is also on trials in Belgium. Shingi Kawondera, who has emerged as the spearhead of the Zimbabwe attack in the World Cup qualifiers, is also club-hunting in Belgium and is also expected to have negotiations with clubs from France and Belgium. But for all the glitter of the gold offered by the transfers, CAPS United president Twine Phiri is appealing for caution. "I think when you look at the figures involved it is easy to just plunge into a deal. "But we have to be careful in the negotiations because these are delicate issues. "I think we should be moving away from selling players outright when they go to Europe and put in a clause that should that player be sold to another club then we would get a certain percentage. "We need to be patient in all our dealings instead of just diving for every deal that comes along. "Just imagine if Roan United, for instance, had not sold Mbesuma outright to Chiefs last year and were due to get a percentage from the sale of the player to Portsmouth? "It would be a massive deal for Roan United and it would change their team forever," said Phiri. Malawian player agent Felix Sapao said it was crucial that teams in his country, Zambia and Zimbabwe retain a certain ownership of the players they gave to South African clubs. "That is the way that we should go. It doesn't really make sense for the developing clubs to get peanuts — just a year before the buying club strikes a fortune. "Just imagine if the Zimbabwean club Jets had retained an ownership percentage on Benjani Mwaruwari when they sold him to Jomo Cosmos? "A year after leaving Jets Benjie became the best player in South Africa and then moved to French side AJ Auxerre for a huge fee.

"Jets did not benefit anything from that transfer," said Sapao. For the Zambian, Zimbabwean and Malawian clubs this is a wake-up call. "We should change the way we have been doing business because, in the long run, the sale of our players to Europe should benefit our own football. "The sale of Mbesuma should not benefit South African football alone but should benefit football in his home country because this boy is a Zambian. "The Zambians taught him how to play football for as long as they can remember and he spent just one season in South Africa and now it's the South Africans who are benefiting." Zimbabwean and Zambian players have come a very long way to finally convince English clubs that they have the talent to play on the big stage. "Which is good. All we needed was to get the breakthrough and now that we have found it then we can go on and show them our real stuff. "Mbesuma simply has to do very well for the sake of his countrymen. "He should lead the way just the way Lucas Radebe influenced English clubs of the value of South African talent," said Sapao. The Malawian agent also believes that the strong performance of Zambia and Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifiers has made the world sit and take notice. "The World Cup is everything in football and Mbesuma has done very well in the qualifiers. "I think the same can be said about Murambadoro and that is why they have been given their chances."