Premier Soccer League newbies Magesi FC shocked Mzansi by going all the way to winning the Carling Knockout.
They started the campaign by beating Orlando Pirates 3-2 in the Round of 16 that followed up with identical 1-0 wins over TS Galaxy and Richards Bay respectively to reach the final.
Dikwena tsa Meetse defied the odds by coming from a goal down to beat favourites Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 to become the first-ever newly promoted side to win the competition in its debut campaign.
The players must have anticipated a massive reward after winning the R6,85 million cash prize. But it was not the case as revealed by KickOff.
R5000 reward for Magesi players?
“The working conditions just got difficult after that, players were visibly disappointed and the mood was down. But what can the players do? They are just grateful they got to make a name for themselves in the final,” the outlet reported.
“Can you imagine getting paid R5000 for winning a cup in the PSL? The money is even little for a match-win bonus of some clubs in the PSL and what made matters worse is that the players know that the players who participated in the All Stars XI all shared around R65 000 each last season.
“And they [All-Stars] did not even win the real cup. But that is how things are down here my brother, there is no reward structure at all.”
Since winning the the annual competition, Magesi have lost all their last three Premier Soccer League matches. Clinton Larsen quit as the team's coach after the Black Label Cup loss against All-Stars.
The team is currently at the bottom of the table with six points from nine matches. Their next assignment will be against Orlando Pirates.
