Royal AM’s tumultuous tenure in the Premier Soccer League continues with salary payment failure

Controversial Premier Soccer League (PSL) club Royal AM club finds itself in even deep water after failing to pay its players its players’ December salaries.

All this is a knock-on effect of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) seizing control of a number of owner Shauwn Mkhize’s assets in November 2024, allegedly due to the businesswoman owing the tax collector about R40-million.

“Royal AM wishes to address the unfortunate situation regarding the non-payment of salaries for December 2024, affecting our valued players, technical team, and staff. We acknowledge the hardship this has caused and extend our heartfelt apologies to those impacted, including their families,” Royal said on Wednesday.

“As many are aware, the club is currently under curatorship following a preservation order obtained by SARS. While this has resulted in the temporary appointment of a curator, Mr Jaco Venter, to oversee the club’s assets and operations, we want to assure all stakeholders that Royal AM remains committed to resolving this matter as swiftly as possible,” it said.

“The club’s management team, led by our CEO and General Manager, has been working diligently with the curator to secure the necessary permissions to release funds for salary payments. It has always been the ethos of Royal AM to prioritise the wellbeing of our personnel, and we remain dedicated to upholding that principle despite the current challenges.”

Shauwn Mkhize (centre) during the CAF Confederation Cup, 1st preliminary round - leg 2 match between Royal AM and Mbabane Highlanders at Moses Mabhida Stadium on 16 September, 2022 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)

The team’s financial constraints led to the PSL postponing a fixture between Royal and Chippa United, which was scheduled for 11 January. Chippa said this week it had been blindsided by this decision.

“This decision, made by the Premier Soccer League at the last minute, comes after all necessary arrangements, including logistics and venue preparations, had been finalised. Despite the disruption caused, no reasons for this postponement have been provided to us,” Chippa said.

Of course, it has since emerged that the reason for the postponement is that, at the moment, Royal simply do not have the financial capacity to honour the fixture. Although the club says it is working towards fixing the problem, especially as the club itself does not owe any tax.

“Member club business I do not discuss. It’s all out there, documented, that the league has given Royal a postponement for the weekend and we are going to inform the public about what will happen [next],” PSL CEO Mato Madlala told TimesLIVE.

The club has also struggled on the field this season. It currently finds itself second from the bottom, with eight points from 11 matches.

Chequered history

Royal AM has been under the spotlight since 2021, when the KwaZulu-Natal-based side refused to play in the relegation/promotion playoffs of that season.

At the time, the team owned by businesswoman and reality TV star Mkhize believed they had been treated unfairly by the PSL after missing out on automatic promotion to the top-flight from the Championship. 

Sekhukhune United were crowned the winners of that second-tier league campaign, beating second-placed Royal by just two points to automatic promotion. Three of the points accumulated by Sekhukhune during that season came after they were handed three points by the league after their opponents, Polokwane City, were punished for failing to field the prescribed number of under-23 players, as stipulated by PSL rules. 

Royal boycotted the season-ending playoffs, instead approaching the courts to try to have Sekhukhune’s promotion overturned. This did not happen, with Mkhize eventually buying the Premiership status of cash-strapped Bloemfontein Celtic to join Sekhukhune as one of the two new top-flight teams for the 2021/22 season.

Sibusiso Magaqa of Royal AM during a DStv Premiership match against Cape Town City at Chatsworth Stadium in Durban on 29 April 2023. (Photo: Darren Stewart / Gallo Images)

It did not take long for Mkhize and her son, Andile Mpisane (who is also the chairperson of and a player for Royal), to draw the public’s ire after they came onto the pitch following a 2-1 league win over Maritzburg United. The duo were carrying a large amount of money in a brown envelope, which they proceeded to dispense to the players on the pitch and in front of the cameras.    

The action was not illegal and the idea to reward the players for a stellar showing was not a bad one. However, the execution and timing were off, and it put South Africa’s soccer top-flight in a bad light. 

Since then, Royal has been in and out of court as they try to fight an order by global soccer governing body Fifa to pay their former striker, Samir Nurković, R15-million after the club terminated the Serbian’s contract in 2022, without making a single appearance. This was after they signed him as a free agent when he departed Kaizer Chiefs. 

Royal has even fought as far as the Court of Arbitration for Sport in order to not pay Nurković, saying he never honoured the terms of his contract fully. The KZN club has lost all their attempts to reduce the fee it must pay the Serbian striker, who is now with SuperSport United. 

Despite an ongoing transfer ban by Fifa, the saga is far from over. In fact, due to the ban, Royal do not have a team in the Premiership’s reserve league – the DStv Diski Challenge. The club could not register enough players at the start of this season.

Shauwn Mkhize at a CAF Confederation Cup match between Royal AM and Mbabane Highlanders at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 16 September 2022. (Photo: Darren Stewart / Gallo Images)

Ruzaigh Gamildien of Royal AM during their DStv Premiership match against Richards Bay in Durban on 6 September 2022. (Photo: Darren Stewart / Gallo Images)

In a full-circle moment, the club might have to play in the relegation/promotion playoffs at the end of the season if its form does not improve. That is if it is not completely ousted from the Premiership before the season ends. DM