Battle over Quinton's fortune set for 2005

The battle for one-fifth of Manchester United star Quinton Fortune's lucrative pay packet will take place in February next year, the Cape High Court has ruled.

Cape Town soccer coach Colin Gie, who "discovered" Fortune when he was 13 and living in a small Kewtown council flat near Athlone Stadium, will attempt to legally force his former protegé to honour a 15-year management contract signed when Fortune was 15 years old.

Under the disputed agreement, signed on May 21, 1998 in Cape Town, Gie is entitled to claim 20 percent of Fortune's estimated R160 000 weekly earnings.

Fortune's legal team argue that the agreement with Gie was not in keeping with regulations of the South African Football Association (Safa) or the world soccer body, Fifa.

They argue that, under Safa and Fifa regulations, the maximum length of a contract for a player's agent is two years - while players' agents should expect a five percent cut, after taxation, of the player's earnings.

Fortune's money is currently being managed by the Elite Sports company owned by Jason Ferguson, son of the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

The case has been set for February 15, 2005.