Footballers Unfiltered: Marshall Munetsi on living his dream, foundation and how fake agents in Africa is 'beyond crisis'

• Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Marshall Munetsi was a guest on FIFPRO’s Footballers Unfiltered, hosted by former Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart

• The FIFPRO series enables footballers to have open conversations about the hidden side of the profession

• Munetsi talks about his foundation helping children in Africa and the crisis of fake agents targeting young players in the continent

Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Marshall Munetsi is living his dream and savouring every moment competing in the English Premier League.

The Zimbabwe international, who joined Wolves in February 2025 from French side Reims, was speaking with Joe Hart on the latest episode of Footballers Unfiltered, a FIFPRO series where men’s and women's players highlight important but little-discussed issues in professional football.

"I was in France for six-and-a-half years and my dream was always to play in England, so when the opportunity came I was so excited," said Munetsi. "I'm really enjoying every moment of it."

With Wolverhampton boasting a strong Zimbabwean community, it did not take long for Munetsi to settle at his new home.

"I realised that I have family around here. It was really a special moment for me,” he said. “Moving to England, we do have a lot of Zimbabweans, so it feels like at home."

Fake agents 'beyond crisis' in Africa

Many promising young players in Africa will be looking at Munetsi’s rise from Harare to the Premier League as a source of inspiration. Munetsi warns young African players with ambitions of embarking on a similar journey to leagues abroad to beware of scam artists posing as football agents, also known as 'fake agents'.

"It’s more than a crisis [in Africa]," explained Munetsi. "A person might create a social media account, come to Europe, watch a game… take a picture [with a player], then put that picture on their profile and write they're a football agent. A lot of people then end up paying money to that agent with promises of going to Europe."

FIFPRO Africa in 2023 launched a campaign in collaboration with the Didier Drogba Foundation and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to raise awareness of African players being targeted and scammed by people pretending to be football agents.

In a survey among 263 professional men’s and women’s players from seven African countries, nearly a third revealed they had a bad experience with a scam artist pretending to be a football agent.

Munetsi, a member of FIFPRO’s Global Player Council, has himself been vocal on raising awareness of the issue. "I had three guys who came to France when I was at Reims asking for accommodation because an agent had promised them some trials in Europe, and then they were just stuck at the airport when they got there. Nobody was there.

"I'm talking about guys who are playing for top teams in Africa that were also scammed. It's a big problem that needs to get real attention."

FIFPRO Africa Secretary General Kgosana Masaseng, who joined Munetsi on the episode, also gave an example of 14 African players stranded in UAE after giving false promises of trials. "The 'agent' promised them all this, nothing happened: no training, no trials, no clubs to sign for," said Masaseng.

FIFPRO Africa has been working with key football stakeholders to address the issue. Masaseng said: "We've been working with CAF during their junior competitions, where we are taking this education campaign to young players and also visiting clubs. We encourage our members across the African continent to keep taking these lessons to the players, whether at national team or club football."

Giving back

Away from the pitch, Munetsi is involved with his foundation that provides education for underprivileged children in Zimbabwe. Munetsi donates 10 percent of his salary to the Marshall Munetsi Foundation, who help children realise their potential through sport and art.

"For me as a person who grew up in Africa, in Zimbabwe, there are a lot of challenges that come with young kids having to acquire education.

"I was quite surprised when I came here [England] to find out that education is free, as opposed to where we come from, you would actually need to pay each term that you go to school and buy a lot of things you need for education.

"If I'm in a position to assist, I would want to do that. You also then look at ways how you can give them the platform to excel, not only in academics, but also in sport."