Banda lodges complaint to Fifa against Tanzania club

Flames midfielder Peter Banda has lodged a complaint with Fifa against Tanzanian NBC Premier League club Singida Black Stars FC for breach of contract.

Among other grounds, the winger claims that the club failed to pay him $80 000 (about K138 million) signing-on fee and four months’ salary.

Banda signed a three-and-half-year contract with Singida in January this year following the expiry of his short-term deal with FCB Nyasa Bullets in December 2023.

In an interview, his manager Mayamiko Mwinjiro said: “Peter signed a contract with Singida in January, but he has not been paid since then.

“So, yes, we have lodged a complaint with Fifa. The process already started some time back. We were building our case brick-by-brick, silently. All is well.”

According to Fifa player status rules and regulations, a player is at liberty to leave a contract if his club fails to pay him for three months.

Mwinjiro also confirmed that he had just completed the process to have the player declared as a free agent.

This is not the first time for Singida to be reported to Fifa over unpaid dues.

Last year, Fifa imposed a transfer ban on the club due to a contract dispute involving Ghanaian defender Nicholas Gyan.

Football analyst Charles Nyirenda said Banda has the right to claim his dues through Fifa.

He said: “Gone are the days when a player could go for months without pay and still be in such a toxic contract.

“These days, if you don’t pay a player his dues for three months, he is a free agent. On top of that, he has a right to claim his dues by lodging a complaint with Fifa.”

Banda joined Singida after a frustrating spell at another Tanzanian outfit Simba Sporting Club where he signed a three-year deal in 2021, but was on and off due to recurring knee, ankle and shoulder injuries.

Last year, the son to former Bullets midfielder Chikondi Banda parted ways with Simba halfway into the contract due to lack of game time and decided to rejoin the People’s Team.