Real Tamale United (RTU) players did not show up to any of the club’s preseason practices that were scheduled before the 2022–2023 Ghanaian football season.
On Monday, the administration of the club issued a statement in which they requested that players appear for preseason practice the next day, on Tuesday.
According to Sey Mubarak, the club’s public relations officer, the players’ reluctance to report to practice was driven by unpaid pay and other bonuses. This information was provided to LUV FM by the club.
There is a growing insurrection in the camp of the Tamale-based squad, and the PRO alleges that since March 2022, none of the players, the technical staff, or the management have been paid. This is leading to developing unrest.
It was brought to everyone’s attention that the players had come to the conclusion that they would not attend training until all of their unpaid payments had been settled.
According to Mubarak, who believes that this situation has existed at least since March, the club has not paid any of its employees since the conclusion of the previous season, including the players, the technical staff, or even management.
To everyone’s relief, the Board of Directors made the decision to authorize the management team and the technical team to carry on with their work. Shaibu Ibrahim Tanko, the head coach, did not, however, since he cited personal reasons for his decision. At the conclusion of the season, the mandates for both the technical and management teams were no longer valid. There have been discussions about the possibility of abolishing both departments.
We had a conversation with Baba Nuhu Mallam, the head coach of the Black Maidens, and he agreed to take the position.
When he showed up for training yesterday, he only encountered a few fans and some management members without the players, and, of course, the players have all unanimously decided that they will not be returning unless they are paid. He had such high hopes because he had spoken to about 80% of the players who were prepared to show up, but when he showed up for training yesterday, he only encountered a few fans and some management members without the players.
Because the players have decided not to show up for training, this is an urgent problem that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Because of this, we were required to go to the office of the board chairman in order to inform him that the statement that they issued on Monday had not been successful in its intended purpose.
In addition to that, he has discussed the matter with the regional minister who is the club’s sponsor.
In order to be able to advise the players about any money that we may have to pay them before they return, he continued by saying, “We are hopeful that throughout the course of today or tomorrow, we will have some positive news from there.” This will allow us to advise the players about any money that we may have to pay them before they return.