Veteran winger Aubrey Ngoma was recently met with a surprise in his application for Unemployment Insurance Fund benefits.
Ngoma was last in a job at SuperSport United where his contract expired at the end of June 2023.
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This was 15 years since he broke through to the professional ranks at University of Pretoria from where he went on to play for Orlando Pirates, Mpumalanga Black Aces, Mamelodi Sundowns, Cape Town City, and SuperSport United.
"I am passionate and angry because Aubrey Ngoma has played football for the longest of time," discloses Nhlanhla Shabalala, the SAFPU secretary general.
"We assisted Aubrey with UIF, and it was a very tedious process because three of the teams that he has played for are not contributing to UIF but on his payslip it appears.
"Now, he is unemployed, and this is when he needs the money that has been deducted.
"But what we received was just a small sum of the money that and not what he deserves.
"What do you then do because we are in the process of helping other players with that because it is a service that we are giving as well as an organisation.
"Think of the tax implications when it shows on your payslip that you are paying tax but when your football career comes to an end or at some point find SARS writing letters to you about that you have not contributed.
"SARS then slaps you with a bill of R400 000 or attach your property.
"How do you go back and resolve that?
"There are a lot of injustices happening and we need to support these players," says Shabalala while Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe, the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) president also shedding further light.
"We always advice players to check payslips and raise issues with the relevant authorities.
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"If it is UIF (Unemployment Insurance Fund) it is wise to check with the Labour Authority in your profession and if you can't then come to us so that we can assist you so that we can check on the money that has been deducted.
"In most cases the clubs are deducting but they are not paying over," says Gaoshubelwe.
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