Sports Club Villa have refuted abandoning their injured striker Charles Bbaale despite strong claims from the player’s representative.
Bbaale has not played a single game for SC Villa since he joined the record league champions in July last year.
The 2020 Masaza Cup top scorer is said to have picked a career threatening injury during his first training days at Villa before the start of the 2021/22 season.
“They made an MRI scan at the start of the season and the results showed that the played needed surgery,” Bbaale’s representative Manager Denis Namanya told The-SportsNation in an exclusive interview.
“But the club told the player to go back and heal from home! I could have used my own money to take my boy for operation but I didn’t want to do anything outside the club’s consent, of course the Club would say that they have the powers and ability to take care of their player.
“Then when the Isma Mugulusi (operation) story came out, that scared me more.”
Namanya, who is also the proprietor of the Prosper Soccer Academy, says that the club is not willing to foot the player’s operation bills.
“The situation has worsened. Even Ronald Ssekiganda needs surgery but he was also told to go back home and recover from there.
“And to make matters worse, Villa’s Dan Mubiru told Bbaale that he will have to give up his license until he recovers, but how will the player recover if he does not undergo surgery?
Manager Niwamanya says that he is willing to cover the surgery costs for Bbaale but “that means that he will have his contract terminated and he will cease to be a Villa player. What I want is the player to have surgery.”
Emmanuel Wasswa and Geoffrey Wasswa also left cash-strapped SC Villa to join KCCA FC where they had their surgeries!
Bbaale who helped Tiles and Terrazo to reach FUFA Big League, has also featured for KJT and was the top scorer as Gomba won the Masaza Cup.
Bazirengedde Speaks Out
SC Villa Vice President Administration Muhammad Bazirengedde says that the club has not abandoned the player.
“For starters, I have not been aware of Bbaale’s situation, you are just giving me information,” Bazirengedde told The-SportsNation when contacted.
“I have not been approached officially yet am the one in charge, I have not heard from his agent. They may have wanted to replace him for just this season.
“Now that am made aware, we have to treat Bbaale and we want to find means to see how to go about it. I understand he got injured before we came in (as new administration. And as a club, we have a Doctor where he can go to be treated. We have to sit on the table and see the means possible of he got injured with the club.”
Bazirengedde says that the player has to remain at the club dashboard until he gets a new club, so he is still a Villa player and they must take care of him.
Villa has been struggling financially in recent memory and Bazirengedde said that they are working against time to have everything in order.
“We found many liabilities at the club when we came into power,” Bazirengedde adds.
“We didn’t find any records or audit and every one is fearing to cover for the liabilities that that are not accounted for. We started by making sure that they club staff are paid on time because the team has to continue operating.
“Many are still demanding the club money but we have to first find out if their claims are substantiated. It’s not easy to determine whether they rightly owes the club or not.”
