When eight Zimbabwean footballers left Harare for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 24, it was supposed to be a life-changing trip.
The youngsters, who are part of former Warriors and Dynamos midfielder Achieford Gutu’s academy —the Achieford Gutu Boys Academy — were promised they would play some matches in the UAE and potentially secure professional contracts in the Middle East Country.
But the trip turned out to be a nightmare. The youngsters got stranded in the UAE and were kicked out of hotels due to non payment of bills, leading to the consfistication of their passports by the hotels.
They also went for days without food.
The eight players, who were on 30-day tourist visas, have also accumulated fines for overstaying in the UAE, amounting to over 3200 Dirhams each, an amount which increases by each passing day.
So dire was their situation that UAE-based Zimbabwean fitness coach Shingi Mugwini came to their rescue by temporarily accommodating them at his apartment.
“I have with me, eight footballers from the Achieford Gutu Academy. They came here on the 25th of February, they were actually 17 when they came here,” Mugwini told Soccer24.
“They were 17 of them, plus Achieford Gutu, his wife Mona Dube and their daughter.
“I have with me eight kids whose ages range from 17 to 22. These kids have been stranded in Dubai, they have been kicked out of hotels due to non payment of hotel bills and have had their passports confisticated by the hotels as a result,” explained Mugwini.
Mugwini said the when the players arrived in Dubai, the vision was to expose them to the international market.
“From what I gathered from the boys, the vision was to bring here and expose them to international football, have them play matches with some clubs here, in the hope that some of them will attract deals with the clubs,” said Mugwini.
“According to the boy, things did not go according to plan when they landed here. For the past three months they have only played three matches and they were not even training.
“They say they went for days without proper meals and could only have bread and beans —only one meal per day,” he said.
Mugwini said the best solution to the problem would be repatriating the youngsters, but the major stumbling block is the unpaid hotel bills.
“The way forward would be the repatriation of the boys, but what is standing in the way is obviously the hotel bills, which are amounting to 51 000 Dirhams.
“51 000 Dirhams is the amount for the three hotels they stayed in, the other hotel I picked them from, I do not know the amount owed.
“So when those amounts are paid, we will then be able to get their passports back. We also need to pay for the overstaying fines as well. When that is done, we will then need their air tickets,” explained Mugwini.
Gutu, in a WhatsApp voice note sent to parents of the affected youngsters, apologized for the setback and asked for their help in repatriating the players.
“Parents, I want to give an update concerning the situation with the children,” Gutu said.
“Firstly, I would like to thank you for trusting me with your children on this trip. But to be honest, things are not going well this side. I have failed. I misused the funds and because of that the children are not living comfortably here.
“So, I am kindly asking you parents to help me reach out to the whole of Zimbabwe, tell them that I have failed on this trip and the children are facing a lot of challenges because of me.
“It’s a situation that’s causing me a lot of pain and distress. So, I thought I should tell you about the situation. If possible, please facilitate that I engage with the embassy in UAE.
Added Gutu: “I am sorry for putting the children through this kind of situation. To the football fraternity, please also forgive me because I thought my intentions were good, not knowing that it would come to this. Because of that, please forgive me.”
