06 Oct 2022

Equatorial Guinea side Malabo Kings president Juan Mane has urged two senior national women’s team players, Kesegofetse “ Odinga” Mochawe and Refilwe “Seven” Tholakelo to return and fulfill their contracts.

The two players had each signed one year contract, but they have since returned home without the consent of their club citing inhabitable issues.

Mane told BOPA in an interview that they had paid the players their sign on fee, adding that when they arrived in Equatorial Guinea, his club was scheduled to play women championship qualification that would be held in Morocco.

“After we lost the game, the next morning Tholakelo came and told us that she wanted to terminate the contract, and I told her that she still had contract with us and it was important for her to fulfill that contract,” he said. Furthermore, Mane said she also reminded Tholakelo that she had an obligation with the team and they were not in a position to hold her passport.

“After a couple of days I was shocked to learn that Tholakelo and Mochawe have gone AWOL (absent without leave), the team manager found the home empty, and one of our players from Ghana who stay in the same apartment told us they already left for Botswana,” he said.

Furthermore, Mane said they would write a formal communication before the end of the week, so that players could explain what their problem was.

“We heard a lot of issues, but they never complained to us. We just heard from Botswana national team manager, saying the players were complaining about their house and I told him that they can look for any house they want, and we were going to play if they did not like the house we gave them, that is where we are,” he said.Mane said it was important for the players to return, saying, “we are Africans, we don’t want this issue to reach FIFA,” adding that the two players should act responsible.

Botswana Football Association (BFA) Chief Executive Officer Mfolo Mfolo said they had not received any communication from Malabo Kings, adding that they had also seen the rumours in the social media regarding two players who have gone missing.

He said they would only act once they received a correspondence addressed to his office.

Mfolo however said if it was true the two players had gone AWOL, the BFA would look at their contracts and advise them from the legal point of view.

The two players, he said, while in Equatorial Guinea, were treated as foreigners, so the issue goes straight to FIFA.

“So we have to protect their career, they are still aspiring and they have a bright future ahead of them, so we would not want the case to reach that point,  we will just wait for Malabo to write to us and we will take it from there,” he said.  ENDS