Club ownership and sponsorship in spotlight as Moroka Swallows cancels two fixtures

Ownership and sponsorship of PSL club’s is in the spotlight after Moroka Swallows cancelled two league fixtures due to a salary issue with players. The Soweto-based club could not fulfill the league match against Mamelodi Sundowns, an unprecedented event in the PSL era.

A statement issued by the club acknowledged there was a salary dispute with the players, but management was hopeful a solution would be found.

“Management would like to assure everyone within and outside the club that the process of finding one another will found,” read part of the statement.

Moroka Swallows would not be struggling with salaries had the Premier Soccer League approved a sponsorship deal with Telkom. The sponsorship was revoked because Telkom is market rival of MTN, a major PSL sponsor.

There is also the issue of ensuring that those that own clubs in the PSL are able to sustain them for a foreseeable future, with or without sponsorship.

Businessman David Mogashoa and politician Panyaza Lesufi admirably brought Swallows back from the dead, including getting back the original name of Moroka Swallows. The team had to be known as Swallows FC for quite some time as debts were cleared.

Now the team faces another trip down the abyss as the sanctions for not fulfilling matches may include expulsion from the league. The club would drop down to the wilderness that is the ABC Motsepe League.

Moroka Swallows owners hated the ABC Motsepe so much that they bought their way out. The buying of club statuses has long been an issue in South Africa, with many calling for tighter control from football authorities.

Whether Moroka Swallows can manage to dig themselves out of this particular hole remains to be seen. What is obvious though, is that club ownership and sponsorship needs another look.