Twine Phiri
| Twine Phiri | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Twine Phiri |
| Nationality | Zimbabwe |
| Occupation |
|
| Employer | Premier Soccer League |
| Known for | former owner CAPS United Football Club |
Twine Phiri is a former owner of CAPS United Football Club and is also the former chairman of the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League and a prominent Harare businessman.
Business Interests
Phiri is said to have business interests in Twin Con Holdings. He had a controlling stake in CAPS United Football Club which he bought from CAPS Holdings.[1].However after financial challenges in 2015, Phiri ceded majority shareholding to Farai Jere leaving him with a 20 percent stake in the club. He disposed of his 20 percent stake in the club in February 2016, and walked away from football management. [2]
Football interests
Phiri has had mixed fortunes during his tenure as one of the co owners of Makepekepe, a club he jointly runs with fellow Harare businessman Farai Jere. The club enjoyed considerable success locally when they were crowned league champions for the 2004 and 2005 seasons under the guidance of Charles Mhlauri.[3] After the exploits of their all-conquering squad, things began to deteriorate at the club as they dismissed one coach after the other, in one of their most poor showings, the club was almost relegated only to survive the chop on the last game of the season.[3]
See also
As Chairman of the Premier League
Phiri has been at the helm of the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League for two consecutive terms. Despite almost having his club grinding to a halt, Phiri was able to secure two sponsorship deals for the premier league after it had gone for several years without sponsorship.[4] Some of the most significant developments that have taken place include the clinching of a deal between the premier league and Supersport which has seen local matches being shown across the continent.[4]
Friction with Farai Jere
Twine Phiri and Jere are the co-owners of Makepekepe but the two were once reported to have been at loggerheads. It was alleged that Jere was at one point claiming that he was a shareholder when he was just a sponsor of the team.[5] The row between the two escalated to unprecedent levels culminating in Jere quitting from th day to day operations of the club despite owning 25 percent of the club.[6] Jere however patched up his differences with Phiri which saw him resuming his sponsorship at Makepekepe.
Controversy
Phiri was allegedly dragged to court by his mother in law after he had failed to pay the school fees of his daughter. The matter came to light when his mother in law approached the civil court to make a maintenance claim.[7] The CAPS United boss was said to have neglected paying fees for his daughter such that he was now owing the school US$1200. Phiri was also said to be on the brink of having property attached due to unpaid debts.[7] He was said to be owing varying amounts of money some of which included US$1 920 and the other debt was unconfirmed but it was said that his vehicle had been attached to settle the debt.[7]
In March 2017, Twine Phiri was sentenced to 10 months in prison by Harare Magistrate Lazini Ncube. However, he was given until the 30th of May to settle $24 000 in maintenance arrears to avoid going to prison. He was taken to the courts by his ex-wife Keresiya for failing to pay maintenance arrears. In March 2016, Phiri was ordered to pay $2 913 per month for the upkeep of his children but only managed to pay $3 600 between April and November. In mitigation he claimed that he was owed a lot of money by Caps Utd. [8]
References
- ↑ Kuvirimirwa and Caroline Magenga Twine Phiri to lose property over debts, The Herald, Published: September 23, 2014, Retrieved: February 3, 2015
- ↑ Twine Phiri sells CAPS United share,walks away from administration, Soccer24, Published: February 5, 2016, Retrieved: March 22, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Richard Chidza Midweek Musings:Twine Phiri has sold Caps United’s soul, The Zimbabwe Mail, Published: December 25, 2014, Retrieved: February 3, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Phiri registers landslide victory in PSL Chairman election, Soccer24, Published: March 9, 2014, Retrieved: February 3, 2015
- ↑ Twine Phiri v Farai Jere, Facebook, Published: January 12, 2013, Retrieved: February 4, 2015
- ↑ Nigel Matongorere Farai Jere back at CAPS United, NewsDay, Published: April 15, 2014, Retrieved: February 4, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Twine Phiri fails to pay school fees, The Herald, Published: February 2, 2015, Retrieved: February 4, 2015.
- ↑ Twine Phiri gets jailed 10 months for maintenance arreas, says owed a lot by Caps United, New Zimbabwe, Published: March 21, 2017, Retrieved: March 22, 2017
