sport news

Footballer has to be fed by friends

local soccer in sorry state

By Ray Abdilla

Hamrun Spartans Congolese goalkeeper Daniel Dengaky is being fed by his fellow Maltese footballers because he’s broke.

On many occasions, the Hamrun keeper is being looked after by his colleagues, including those from other teams, because he is not getting paid regularly. Several players have told MaltaToday that they cannot simply leave Dengaky fending for himself.

The Congolese goalkeeper has a salary of around Lm400 a month but like many other players – and not just footballers in the Hamrun Spartans side - he isn’t getting paid on time.

While everyone is in agreement that corruption in Maltese football is something that has to be stamped out, the fact that players are not being paid by their clubs for months is also hurting the game.

It is also happening to several Maltese players, but since most of them have another full-time job, they suffer less than the foreigners who depend solely on their wage from their club.

Some players believe that a union is needed for the players even though the Malta Football Association is supposed to take care of the players’ needs. Many players are complaining to the MFA that they are owed hundreds of liri by their respective clubs. This week, for example, former Malta defender Joe Galea issued a complaint to the MFA that he was still owed Lm300 by Xghajra Tornadoes - a club he used to play for a couple of seasons ago.

Several players are keen on the idea of setting up a union of players as happens abroad. Some say that if the situation doesn’t improve, Malta could witness its first soccer strike. Dengaky’s case may be a talking point, but it is not the first of its kind in Malta. The same had happened to Sinisa Radak, a Czech midfield player, who also plays for Hamrun. He was on the brink of selling his car to support himself and his wife.

Dengaky’s days as the Spartans custodian could also be numbered.

Since he was one of the first players to be given a new contract by returning president Victor Tedesco, it was thought that he would definitely be retained by the Spartans.

But an offer from an English club is understood to have been too tempting and the goalie – one of Hamrun’s stars - is now said to be insisting that the Spartans allow him to move.