SAFPU looking for solutions to non-payment of salaries at TS Galaxy & other clubs

By Velile Mnyandu
14th February 2023

South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) Vice-President Tebogo Munyai has confirmed that they have received complaints about non-payment of players’ salaries at TS Galaxy from their members and says it is not the first time.

Munyai, was reacting to the reports about TS Galaxy failing to pay some of its players’ salaries last month and also allegedly deducting 10% from their salaries to fund their recent trip to Turkey. Munyai says this growing trend of Premier Soccer League clubs failing to pay players' salaries is concerning.

"I can assure you now that this matter has reached our office. This is not the first time, a lot of you do not know this but about four or five months ago, TS Galaxy didn't pay players for two months. We are really worried about the non-payment of players, especially in the professional ranks," he said.

Munyai says there are more clubs in the National First Division (NFD) and in the Premier Division, who are just like Galaxy and something needs to be done about it at the top.

"It's not only TS Galaxy. National First Division is worse, just yesterday I was engaging with one of the club owners regarding a similar issue. As a union we've taken a step further to invite club owners to our offices to find out what the issues are, why players are not getting paid while the league is paying the grant. We want to get to the bottom of it," he added.

With the two divisions becoming more competitive, it’s believed that some of the clubs have started to operate beyond the means of their coffers and this is affecting their operations. Munyai says before going to the league, the plan is to engage the clubs and their members about this issue.

"One of the key things that clubs need to understand is that they need to pay the salaries that fit their pockets. Players also need to negotiate salaries that fits the clubs’ pockets. We need to find the balance between the union and club owners and find solutions. Before we go to the league, we need to understand from club owners what their problems are so that we go to the league knowing exactly the problems that owners face and the challenges that our footballers face, then find solutions," he concluded.