Former Zambia international and coach Nchimunya Mweetwa has weighed in on rising allegations that some MTN Super League coaches demand payments from players and parents in exchange for signings and game time, describing the practice as a direct attack on the integrity of the sport.
On Friday, BolaNews revealed that some top-flight coaches and officials are pressuring players to commit to sharing signing-on fees as a condition for being signed.
Responding to the report, Mweetwa said he witnessed similar conduct both during his playing career and later as a coach. He noted that the advances do not come only from corrupt officials but sometimes from desperate players and parents.
“I was a player; I saw that happening. I became a coach. Sometimes it is actually the players and the parents who make these offers. ‘Coach, help me’ or ‘Help my son; I will see what I can do,’” he said.
Mweetwa, a clean sport ambassador, told BolaNews that such conduct constitutes corruption and violates fundamental sporting ethics, stressing that paying for opportunities undermines merit and professionalism.
“Paying is corruption; it is bribery. The Anti-Corruption Commission discourages bribery in sport,” he said. “Those people who are paying, it means they are not talented, because if you are talented, you don’t need to offer money. The league’s integrity and standards are affected.”
He acknowledged the financial hardships faced by many local coaches but warned that poverty cannot justify wrongdoing.
“It is a dilemma. The remuneration of coaches sometimes is little, but poverty should not be an excuse to do wrong things,” he said.
Mweetwa called for stronger oversight and enforcement mechanisms to protect young players, safeguard fairness, and ensure that opportunities in the league are based on ability rather than illicit payments.
