Zimbabwe players delay Africa Cup flight over pay

Jan 09, 2017

The team were due to fly together on Saturday to Cameroon to play a friendly on Tuesday before proceeding to Libreville.

Zimbabwe's national football team refused to board a flight for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon, officials said, in a dispute over pay.

The team were due to fly together on Saturday to Cameroon to play a friendly on Tuesday before proceeding to Libreville. After tense meetings with the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), some players finally left Harare on Sunday morning while the rest were set to depart later in the day.

"We had a fruitful meeting and the players and administration reached an amicable solution," ZIFA spokesman Xolisani Gwesela told AFP, declining to elaborate how the impasse was resolved.

The players had rejected $1,000 (950 euros) appearance fees and demanded $5,000 instead, sources at the association said. They also demanded $150 daily allowances for locally-based players and $500 for foreign-based players, instead of $50 and $100 respectively.

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