Royal AM owner Shauwn Mkhize and her son, club chairman Andile Mpisane FILE - Royal AM owner Shauwn Mkhize and her son, club chairman Andile Mpisane. Photo: Instagram
Royal AM have made their bed, and now they must lie in it. The mess they currently find themselves in is all their own doing, and they have nobody else to blame.
They were the ones who decided against paying Samir Nurkovic the money he was owed, and now, they could be kicked out of the league.
Ever since they bought the top flight status of the beloved Bloemfontein Celtic, the club have continued to rub people the wrong way. And if their time at the top table is coming to an end, they will have very few sympathisers.
From the beginning, they’ve never been everyone’s cup of tea. From the time when owner Shauwn Mkhize was seen handing out cash bonuses to her players on the field after a game, to giving regular game time to 23-year-old chairman Andile Mpisane, the club have continually made a mockery of the league.
They’ve been in existence for only five years, but in that time, the club have managed to land themselves in hot water a number of times.
Their latest controversy, involving Nurkovic’ unpaid wages of roughly R10 million, could be the final straw that sees the club kicked out of the PSL. And that would be a great day for South African football.
The club is owned by an uber rich Durban businesswoman and socialite. She is so rich and influential she counts American rapper Rick Ross among her friends. And through he connections, she once organised for son Andile to perform at a top hip hop event in the United States.
Despite being so wealthy, her club is being funded by the tax payers of Pietermaritzburg, through a controversial three-year sponsorship deal worth R27 million. That’s despite the Msunduzi Municipality being one of the worst run municipalities in the country. It should be noted, however, that Mkhize is not the only super rich individual whose football club is benefiting from public coffers.
The KwaZulu-Natal capital has pot holes everywhere, ageing water and electricity infrastructure, and basic service delivery is often unheard of. And according to reports, at one point, the municipality was 20 days away from running out of money.
But the city had money to sponsor a rich businesswoman’s football club. A businesswoman who had the R50 million required to buy the top flight status of Bloemfontein Celtic.
The sale of Siwelele left the Free State capital without their beloved club, taking something special away from South African football as a whole. Celtic were known to have among the best supporters in the country. In their famous green and white hoops, they followed the team everywhere.
Even to this day, despite not having a club to call their own, they can been seen at football games in Bloemfontein. Royal AM’s supporters, on the other hand, are often made up of MaMkhize and the young Mpisane’s cash-flashing entourage. We should add that MaMkhize’s purchase of the team broke no laws. She was exercising her constitutional right to own and run and own a business as she pleases. But in football terms, she took something away from fans.
And so, the club are on the verge of being shown the door if they don’t settle the Nurkovic matter immediately. Perhaps instead of kicking the club out of the league, the PSL should strip them of their status and revive the much loved Siwelele.
IOL Sport
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