Hadiya Hosaina players - Photo Courtesy Ethiopian Premier League.
Four Ethiopian premier league outfits are in dire non-payment crisis Pan-Africa Football understands. The clubs went two months without paying their players and staff as the league share company threatened possible penalty, if they fail to pay their players this December.
The four clubs are Hadiya Hosaina, Mekele 70 Enderta, Wolawalo Adigrat University and Sihul Shire FC. The three Tigray, Northern Ethiopian regional state, clubs returned to league action this season after a four years hiatus due to the war in North Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Premier League Share Company last June adopted a new regulation guiding the financial system of clubs. According to the new regulation clubs should open a closed bank account and deposit the salaries of their players in the account prior to the league games commence.
The new regulations also state the salary expense of clubs should not exceed 409,000 USD per annum. Failing to comply with the regulation will result in penalties and sanctions. Non-payment for three months will also result in penalties.
Hadia Hosaina Girma Tadesse told Soccer Ethiopia his charges are playing with challenges. “We need support. To motivate our players we need the club officials to support us. But I don’t think the officials want us to get favorable results. We are facing a problem. If they don’t get behind us quickly things might be turning out to be very difficult and tough.”
Hosaina are second in the league with 19 points after a series of astonishing results in the league. The three Tigray clubs were involved in a huge fundraising campaign last August but they are yet to secure the funds as they are financially struggling to pay their players and staff.
The one time Ethiopian champions Mekele are 14th with 10 points while Shire and Wolwalo occupy the relegation zone. Wolwalo so far lost all of their eight league games as they sacked their head coach Ashenafi Bekele and replaced him with Tesgaye Kidanemariam.
Nonpayment crisis has now become a rampant thing in Ethiopian clubs. Last September the league demoted Wolkite Ketema for failing to pay their accrued salary. The Ethiopian Football Federation previously stated some clubs have been fined by FIFA for failing to pay monthly salaries to their players.
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