Escape from Equatorial Guinea
Tholakele and Mochawe sneak out of Central African country
Two of the Mares top players, Refilwe ‘ Seven’ Thokalakele and Kesegofetse ‘ Odinga’ Mochawe have reportedly made a swift return to Botswana shortly after signing for Malambo FC in Equatorial Guinea.
The duo joined Malabo in August after impressing at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations ( WAFCON) finals but their time in Guinea appears to have come to an abrupt end following reports of unfair treatment.
Both players had signed season- long contracts with Tholakele reportedly earning double figures and one of the highest paid players at the club, but in just less than two months of their stay in Equatorial Guinea they want out of the deal. According to close sources, players this past week had to find
their way and negotiate their path out of the Central African country and were among the spectators at the national stadium on Friday when the Mares faced Namibia. Malambo officials only learnt of their absence three ( 3) days after their departure. BG Sport gathered that the two players spent the first two weeks of their stay in Guinea living in a hotel but things turned south once they were moved out to their new houses which were reportedly in a distasteful state. “They are back in the country, things didn’t go according to plan or as expected, the house they lived in looked like it had not been used for years, among other things, when it was time to get paid they were taken from pillar to post at times, currency rates on the day being mentioned as an excuse and that is completely against what was agreed on the contract,” the BG Sport informant close to the players, said.
The source further revealed that the duo had to sneak out of Guinea as the Malambo club officials
were not willing to accede to their request and grant them a return home. It is said that the players were to pay a certain amount to compensate the club if they wished to terminate their contracts and further cover their own traveling expenses. According to close sources the matter has been reported to Footballers Union of Botswana ( FUB) but when contacted for comment before going to print, FUB President Onalethata Tshekiso had not responded on the matter. The reports suggest that the matter is however before the FUB legal office who are still making evaluations on how to best tackle the case. Other close sources to the developments however suggest that the reasons put forth by the two players do not merit termination of contract and further suspect that the two could in- fact be home- sick.