In the latest edition of Negotiating Behind the Scenes, 2007 Young African Footballer of the Year and 2012 AFCON winner Clifford Mulenga reveals how he joined Jomo Cosmos.
Who I signed for...
"Jomo Cosmos in 2018. I had just left Mbombela United."
How did you find out?
"Jomo Sono himself called me. He told me they've been watching me playing at Mbombela United, and they've been impressed with my performances. And that he was building a team to compete in the NFD and return to the Premier Soccer League. And so, he thought I was one of the players who could add value to his team. So, I found out directly from Bra J himself."
Where did you meet?
"We met at the Jomo Cosmos offices at the training ground in Randfontein. That's where we had a meeting."
Who was there?
"Aime Kitenge, who was part of his technical team, was also present at the signing of the contract. Jomo Sono and Aime Kitenge were there."
What surprised you?
"What surprised me was...you know from stories I have heard that Bra J was a very serious man, people were scared of him when I got there, he was all smiles, made a lot of jokes. But to my surprise, he was very nice, kind, laid back and an easy going Jomo Sono."
Did you get what you wanted?
"To be honest, I wish I could have gotten a little bit more money. But unfortunately, they had just come back from the Premier League, so they couldn't give me what I wanted. So, what they gave me, I could live with it. It was okay. I didn't get exactly what I wanted, but what I got was good enough for that time."
Did you see out the contract?
"No, I didn't see out the contract as we ended up facing money problems at the club. In the first season, we reached the playoffs but failed to make it to the Premier Soccer League. During the second season things got a bit difficult, and our best players had to leave. The team was struggling financially, and I was not getting paid, so because of that I also got into financial problems that I needed to sort out as soon as possible.
"Unfortunately, the club was unable to pay me my money, so I took the case to FIFA via the players union. And that's how FIFA came to resolve the issue of the unpaid salaries."
What would you change?
"I would change his financial situation at that time because we had a really good enough team to get us to the PSL.
"But some of our best players had to leave because of those financial problems, we lost Linda Mntambo, Fredderick Nsabiyumva and some other guys that were very crucial to our team."