Dynamos have been expelled from the 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup after failing to settle outstanding salary arrears owed to former coach Saul Chaminuka, rulin...
Dynamos have been expelled from the 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup after failing to settle outstanding salary arrears owed to former coach Saul Chaminuka, ruling the Harare giants out of the continental competition before Thursday’s draw in Cairo, Egypt.
The exclusion means Dynamos will not be among the 56 clubs taking part in the CAF Confederation Cup draw after the club failed to meet the financial requirements for participation. According to reports from The Herald and ZimLive, the outstanding debt to Chaminuka was about US$13,000 and related to his time in charge of the club in 2025.
Dynamos had been preparing for a return to continental football after winning the Chibuku Super Cup last season. The victory gave the Harare club the right to represent Zimbabwe in the CAF Confederation Cup, with the club making changes to its squad and technical department ahead of the new campaign.
Advertisement
However, the unresolved salary dispute with Chaminuka has now prevented the club from taking up that opportunity. The Herald reported that Dynamos owed the former coach US$13,000 in unpaid salaries from his spell at the club between May and July 2025. Chaminuka subsequently took the matter to FIFA.
Dynamos reportedly made a last-minute partial payment in an attempt to resolve the matter before the CAF deadline. However, the payment was not enough to satisfy the requirements, with FIFA reportedly insisting that the full amount owed to Chaminuka be settled before the club could be included in the Confederation Cup draw.
The issue falls within CAF’s club licensing requirements concerning overdue payments to current and former employees. CAF’s regulations require licence applicants to demonstrate that they do not have overdue payables to employees, including former employees, by the relevant deadline. The regulations cover payments such as wages, salaries, bonuses and other contractual benefits.
The CAF rules provide a limited period for clubs with outstanding payments to resolve the situation. A debt may cease to be treated as overdue if it has been paid in full, if the creditor agrees in writing to extend the payment deadline, or in certain circumstances where a matter is formally before a competent authority.
For Dynamos, the failure to clear the Chaminuka debt has resulted in the club being left out of the continental competition at a time when it had been attempting to rebuild. The club appointed Romanian coach Aristica Cioaba and had been strengthening its squad as it prepared for both domestic and continental football.
The latest development also adds to Dynamos’ recent difficulties with financial and administrative obligations. In 2025, the club withdrew from the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup after citing financial challenges and the lack of a suitable CAF-approved home ground. At the time, the club said it was not sufficiently prepared to compete at continental level.
That withdrawal came after Dynamos had qualified for the competition by successfully defending the Chibuku Super Cup. The club’s inability to participate meant it missed the opportunity to compete in Africa during that campaign. Reports at the time also highlighted wider financial problems, including outstanding payments involving players.
The Chaminuka dispute is therefore another setback for a club that had hoped to return to the continental stage in 2026/27. The Herald reported that Dynamos had been informed of the problem well before the CAF deadline and that the Zimbabwe Football Association had also advised the club of the situation.
Chaminuka’s spell at Dynamos lasted only a few months. He replaced Lloyd Chigowe in May 2025 but was suspended by the club in July following disciplinary issues. He later returned to the Premier Soccer League in 2026 after being appointed head coach of TelOne.
The exclusion is particularly significant because CAF’s 2026/27 Confederation Cup campaign is scheduled to begin with the first preliminary round in September, with the first legs set for September 4-6 and the return legs scheduled for September 11-13. The group stages are expected to take place between November 2026 and January 2027.
Dynamos’ absence from the draw also means the club will not have the opportunity to compete for the CAF Confederation Cup prize structure during the upcoming campaign. According to CAF’s published calendar, the winners of the 2026/27 Confederation Cup will receive US$4 million.
The latest setback places renewed attention on the importance of financial compliance in Zimbabwean football. Dynamos’ experience shows how unresolved contractual obligations involving former players or coaches can affect a club beyond the domestic league, with consequences extending to CAF licensing and participation in continental competitions.
For Dynamos, the immediate consequence is clear: the club’s planned return to the CAF Confederation Cup has ended before the competition’s draw. The Harare giants will now have to address the outstanding obligation to Chaminuka while continuing their domestic campaign under Cioaba.
The club’s exclusion also comes as Zimbabwean football seeks stronger representation in continental competitions. Dynamos had been expected to use the 2026/27 campaign as an opportunity to return to Africa after missing the previous edition because of financial difficulties. Instead, another unresolved financial matter has prevented that return.
