By Ndinawe Simpelwe –

FORMER Chipolopolo striker Linos Chalwe says the transfer saga involving defender Christopher Munthali is testimony that Zambian players need a Players Union to be put in place.
In an interview, Chalwe observed that Zambia had reached great heights in football and it was sad that players could be involved in transfer disputes which could be easily avoided with the right education.
He said it was clear that Zambian players needed education on a number of issues especially contracts because Munthali was not the first Zambian player to be embroiled in transfer and contractual disputes.ac
“A contract is one of the key things we will be looking into, it’s part of their welfare. Contractual issues, how to manage their finances and their education is what we want to target. Some players definitely need to be educated about their contracts, we need to avoid transfer wrangles as a country because we have matured with our football,” Chalwe said.
Power Dynamos defender Munthali was at the centre of a transfer dispute between Kitwe rivals Nkana and Power with the player crossing to Nkana claiming he was a free agent despite having a running contract with Power.
Chalwe said the union would not interfere in any matters with the clubs and their relationships with players but was only interested in the welfare of players.
He said countries like Malawi and Botswana already had unions for players and Zambia cannot lag behind especially with the introduction of club licensing.
“We are here not to fight with clubs but work with the players to build our football. What happened to Munthali is very unfortunate. With our help as a union, we hope nothing similar will happen to anyone.
“Players and clubs need to look into this critically especially with the coming of club licensing, everything should be professional,” he said.
He further said the union once established would not only look into the interest of active players but even retired ones.
“We should end the days of our former players turning into destitutes.
It is sad to see a player who had a successful careers turn into  beggars because of failure to plan or lack of help from anyone,” said Chalwe.