By SANDRA MWILA –

. KALENGO

VETERAN coach Dean Mwiinde says Winston Kalengo’s move to AC Leopards provides a good opportunity for the player to better his footballing career.
Meanwhile, football administrator Ponga Liwewe has observed that the current maximum wage structure will continue to keep Zambian clubs from succeeding in international competitions.
Mwiinde said in an interview yesterday that Kalengo has a few years  to play and it was good for him to play abroad to earn more money and secure his future.
He said the interest of the player should always come first when making such deals and was optimistic Kalengo made wide consultations before inking his signature on paper.
“In football you look at the interest of the player before anything else. When you look at Kalengo, he has a short period of time to play and he should now look at investing in the future, he needs a club with money,” he said.
Mwiinde, a former Zambia Under-23 soccer team assistant coach, said gone are the days when football players became destitute after their playing careers hence the need to utilise their opportunities.
“Most Zambian analysts are quick to condemn when players make such moves but when you look at AC Leopards it is a good club that has won many trophies, it’s similar to TP Mazembe in Congo DRC.
“People even condemn the Indian and Chinese leagues but they don’t know the leagues there are equally competitive,” Mwiinde said.
Former KK11 coach and captain Dickson Makwaza said in a separate interview that Kalengo should continue working hard as he starts life in Brazzaville.
Makwaza said Congo Brazzaville was not a bad destination for the 2015 Zambian Player-of-the-Year, especially that he has a few years remaining in his career. He wished Kalengo the best of luck as he embarks on a new journey in his football career.
“It depends on what the agents negotiated for him, for me it is a good move. What Kalengo needs to do is prove himself in the Brazzaville league. He should prove that his performance last season was not a fluke,” he said.
Giving his views on Kalengo’s move, Ponga wrote on his facebook page that the current wage structure will further restrict player development.
“Winston Kalengo’s departure from Zambian football to go and ply his trade in Congo Brazzaville comes as no surprise.
Zambian players have been easy pickings for foreign clubs whose owners have deep pockets, irrespective of the quality of the league’s those clubs play in,” he said.
Ponga said the antiquated remuneration structures in the Zambian Premier League leaves the door open for the snatching away of the best local talent.
“Most, if not all, of the clubs in the domestic league structure their remuneration by grouping players into three distinct tiers, with the best and most experienced players at the top, the promising and upcoming or fading older players in the middle, and the youth in the third bracket. These three levels have ceilings that prevent players from earning their true worth,” he said.
Ponga said he has always advocated for the phasing out of this method of salary scales so that it is replaced by individually negotiated contracts.
“A player should be paid what he is worth and if it means breaking the bank to get them on board, then so be it,” he said.