Bulawayo Bureau — FOOTBALLERS Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Paul Gundani has said Premier Soccer League players must earn a minimum wage of US$500 a month. Gundani said there was an urgent need to pay players a living wage because football was now an industry that should sustain the livelihoods of players and their families.

He said most players were signing contracts before fully understanding the contents creating problems for themselves when the contract is terminated. Our players should get a minimum wage of US$500 which can sustain them and their families because football is a sort of employment and clubs must adhere to labour laws governing any industry in this country," said Gundani.

"Players should, therefore, be educated on their rights and contracts first. We have been having problems because most players do not know what they are putting themselves into when they sign the contracts."

He said FUZ was registered with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and therefore have a mandate to protect their members from unscrupulous employers. During the launch of the Zimbabwe Soccer Trust, Zifa said soccer clubs should respect and honour players' contracts but they are doing the opposite when it comes to the national team players," said Gundani. national team players are called for duty without signing any contracts which is against the labour laws. Zifa should practise what they preach.

Gundani said the players should get a net salary of at least US$500.

He said US$100 should be the minimum for a housing allowance and US$40 the minimum for transport allowance.