The PSL must be kicking themselves for having allowed it.
When Shauwn ‘MaMkhize’ Mkhize purchased the status of Bloemfontein Celtic, there was some resistance from the fans of Siwelele about the club being moved from Mangaung. But, as PSL Chairman Irvin Khoza always says, the league cannot afford to have the livelihoods of employees being affected, and when Max Tshabalala told them that he could no longer afford to run Celtic, they had no choice but to let it be taken over by someone who could.
Mkhize was the one with the money, and Celtic ceased to exist as Royal Andile Mpisane (Royal AM) came into being.
Having failed to win promotion to the elite league in 2021 after Sekhukhune United won a boardroom battle, Mkhize did what is generally considered ‘unfootball-like’ by taking the matter to court. The case went all the way to the Sports Arbitration Court (CAS), a huge embarrassment to the league given how world football governing body Fifa frowns upon such actions.
She went on to buy the elite status thereafter – through Celtic – and while to many she brought some glamour to the league, her flamboyant ways — driving to matches in flashy cars, flashing cash to be paid to players right on the pitch, among many of her outlandish behaviours — must have irked the league’s powers that be.
And then came the Samir Nurkovic saga in 2024, with the club having failed to pay the Serbian and ending up getting a transfer ban from Fifa. The league had long put up the fixtures, only to then have weekends where one team had to be idle — a situation the league, purportedly the best on the continent, could have done without.
It got worse last month when the league was forced to cancel Royal AM’s match against Chippa United as Mkhize’s troubles with the taxman worsened, with her players going without their December salaries.
Wednesday was the last straw for sure, as the league once again had to cancel Royal AM’s match against Orlando Pirates, which was scheduled for Thursday night in Pietermaritzburg.
That the PSL is regarded as the best-administered league on the continent is because Khoza, Kaizer Motaung, and the many men and women who have been part of the executive since the formation of the NSL in 1985 (and later the PSL in 1996), have painstakingly worked to ensure it is.
They have managed to convince the hitherto pro-rugby and cricket corporate South Africa to invest billions in the game, and anything that appears to threaten that is something they will not tolerate.
The Royal AM mess has served to undermine all that hard work from the men and women who have for many years robbed their families in order to pay their players and ensure their club — and by extension the league — is fully functional and professional.
The PSL have to take part of the blame for this mess, allowing this phenomenon of club statuses being bought as easily as it is, to come to an end.
Here is hoping that Royal AM sorts out their mess by tomorrow, as the league has said they’ve given them that deadline. Surely, we cannot have a situation where we have to complete the season with 15 clubs.
That is just a recipe for disaster, because what does the league do to remedy that situation should it arise?
There are clubs that have already played against Royal AM; do those matches be declared null and void to make up for those that will not play against them?
Independent Media Sport