Zimbabwe international Teenage Hadebe can finally return to his Turkish club after he fell victim to his country’s inability to produce passports.
The Yeni Malatyaspor defender was to travel back to Turkey immediately after the international break because he struggled to get a new passport.
The 24-year-old had run out of pages in his passport and with the government’s financial problems it has been able to print new ones.
Thousands of Zimbabweans have been affected causing widespread anger and frustration.
Hadebe was eventually issued a new passport on Wednesday a week after the end of the international break to enable to return to Turkey.
The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) intervened to expedite the process of getting him a new document and apologised to the Turkish club.
“We sincerely regret the inconveniences caused to Yeni Malatyaspor by Hadebe’s delayed return,” Xolisani Gwesela an FA spokesperson said in a statement.
“Zifa is deeply grateful to the government for treating Hadebe’s case as a priority. On our part, we are also engaging Yeni Malatyaspor to ensure that we have lasting relations beyond the just concluded fixture.”
The former Kaizer Chiefs defender travelled to Zimbabwe during the international break to play for the Warriors against Botswana and Zambia in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
He played in both matches as Zimbabwe drew 0-0 against visiting Botswana and beat Zambia 2-1 in Lusaka.
Hadebe is a key member of the Warriors squad and represented the country at the recent Nations Cup tournament in Egypt.
