Kruger United players are left frustrated due to unpaid salaries from the last campaign, as the 2025/26 Motsepe Foundation Championship is fast approaching.
The Mpumalanga-based outfit is accused of delaying salary payments to its players for the past three months. According to FARPost sources, about 80% of the players have yet to receive their salaries for May, June, and July.
Last month, the Footballers Union of South Africa [FUSA] stated that they are aware of the unpaid salaries issue at Kruger and went on to emphasise the impact that this financial oversight by the PSL clubs has on player welfare and the integrity of the sport.
FUSA called for immediate action to address the players’ grievances and ensure they receive their rightful compensation. However, Kruger United have taken no action to resolve the matter.
This publication caught up with two players affected by the issue, who chose to speak on the condition of anonymity.
WHAT THE TWO PLAYERS SAID ABOUT KRUGER UNITED UNPAID SALARIES SAGA
The first player revealed that this issue had been ongoing throughout the season, but they chose not to speak out, as they wanted to protect the club’s image, with the hope that everything would be resolved internally.
“It’s very tough. These kinds of issues are some of the things we tried to keep under wraps to protect the club and ourselves throughout the season. You saw that we had a fantastic season and made sure we contested for the league, saving the club’s status despite not being paid. Sometimes we would get paid late, and they are always a month behind with payments. But we always performed at our best,” the first player told FARPost.
“We were doing so well until the chairman [Bongani Wati] became our own enemy because of the late payments. Sometimes people would be paid half their salaries. Sometimes the grounds we train on and the bus we travel in are not paid for.
“At some point, we found ourselves late for matches because a bus arrived late due to non-payment, and flights were not booked to travel back after the away games. I can tell you now, even the coaches have gone four months without being paid.
“There were times when we had to use our own cars to get to the game because we were late for our home game due to a bus not arriving, as it had not been paid for. We had to speed and risk our lives to make it to the game on time.”
‘THIS ISSUE HAS TAKEN A TOLL ON US,’ SAYS THE SECOND KRUGER UNITED PLAYER
The second player highlighted how the unpaid salaries by the SAFA 2023/24 ABC Motsepe League National Playoffs runner-up, Kruger, have affected his day-to-day life, citing that he is behind financially due to not being paid.
“This issue has taken a toll on us. It even affects our day-to-day lives because right now, nobody is communicating with us from the team. So, when we try to call them, they are always stalling us. The chairman, when you try to communicate with him, doesn’t even respond to us and does not answer our calls,” added the informant-player.
“For now, only a few players are being paid because they wanted them to come back for pre-season training camp. This shows that there’s money, and they just don’t want to pay some of us.
“Now we are behind on everything. Debit orders are not paid. Our families think we misused our funds.”
WHAT KRUGER UNITED CHAIRMAN HAD TO SAY ABOUT UNPAID SALARIES
This website reached out to the club’s chairman, Bongani Wati, to allow him to respond regarding the unpaid salaries matter.
“Look, we are aware that we have not paid salaries, but it has not been three months or two months. We are in the process of making the June payment. I think there are some who haven’t received their May salaries, but not all of them,” Wati told FARPost.
“However, you cannot pay salaries for July to players whose contracts expired in June. So, that doesn’t make sense to me. This is something that we are trying to resolve. There’s a plan in place, and the players are being informed of what needs to happen and when it will occur.
“I don’t know what you guys have been told, but there’s nobody trying to do anything funny. So, for the players who are saying they can’t reach me, I don’t think I have an obligation to answer people’s calls if I hired someone to deal with such issues within the team. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that because I’m busy with other things on the side. They are not being ignored; there’s someone communicating with them.”
Kruger finished in fifth position in the Motsepe Foundation Championship table with 45 points after 30 matches. They missed out on a place in the PSL Promotional/Relegation Playoffs on the last day of the 2024/25 season.
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