Potential sale of SuperSport United casts yet another shadow over Premier Soccer League

Daily Maverick

18-05-2025

The rumoured sale of the Premiership's mainstay throws a big shadow over local soccer.
Although SuperSport United have downplayed reports of their sale in order to make space for the rebirth of Bloemfontein Celtic, the rumours that the club will become the latest to relinquish its top-flight status have once again cast the spotlight on the sustainability of the South African club soccer model.
It is no secret that local soccer clubs generally struggle financially. Only the 'big three' – Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns – boast vast financial resources. This is mostly because of their commercial backers, though for Sundowns being owned by the wealthy Motsepe family is also a factor.
But for the rest of the teams in the top division of the Premier Soccer League (PSL), it's touch-and-go to make ends meet and they rely heavily on the R2.5-million monthly grant the league gives them. These funds are part of the pool of money the league receives from broadcast rights as well as commercial partnerships.
But even this is never enough to cover all the costs of running a club, such as players' salaries, leasing venues (most of the sides do not own stadiums), ensuring ample security during home games and travel and accommodation costs when playing away.
Alarming situation
PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza has expressed sympathy for club owners in the past, saying those who are not backed by sponsors or do not have deep pockets face a 'painful' reality.
'The value of our business is built in the all-important value of sacrifice. Ours is a puny business, where those that shoulder the burden of ownership take all the risks yet receive the least of the benefit and spoils, if there are any left,' said Khoza.
In spite of growth in South African soccer, every so often there are reports of a team struggling to pay its players or being on the brink of being sold.
The way this unfolds is cause for concern. Teams that do not want to earn promotion to the top-flight league by putting in shifts on the field buy their way into it through these struggling teams.
The well-documented financial struggles of teams in the Premiership mean there will always be a market for this backdoor 'promotion' to the top division. Khoza has said he would prefer that it did not happen, or that a club keeps its name and remains in the same location in the event its ownership changes.
The PSL, though, does not have any written guidelines in this regard. Instead, it adopts a free market economy stance. This is why teams such as Bloemfontein Celtic and Wits are no longer at the forefront of local soccer despite boasting a combined history of more than a century before they disappeared into thin air.
Merry-go-round
To make matters worse, both the teams that bought Wits and Celtic's premier-division status are no longer in the Premiership. Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM), who were in the second tier at the time, replaced a cash-strapped Wits in 2020.
They did not last long in the premier division, turning the league into a circus with a number of regrettable incidents, including players going on strike over unpaid salaries.
Midway through the 2020/21 season TTM were sold to businessperson and pharmacist Abram Sello, who changed the team's name to Marumo Gallants before the new season.
In another twist, Gallants were then relegated from the Premiership in 2023, falling to the Championship. They came back ahead of the current season – again via the backdoor as the financial struggles of Moroka Swallows gave Sello the perfect opportunity to buy his way into the Premiership again.
'Why do we buy the status instead of working hard? It's a very ugly question and easy to answer. Football has got rules, the PSL has got rules, and there is no way you are going to cross the bridge without ­following those laws and rules,' said Sello, defending his modus operandi.
'If the spirit has been killed, many clubs did that, but it is within the framework of the law in South Africa. They [teams who have bought their way up] have never killed any spirit. Marumo Gallants will not kill any spirit when what we are doing is within the framework of the PSL and governance. If what we are doing is stepping on anyone's toes, we apologise, but we are not doing anything illegal,' said Sello.
Teams such as AmaZulu have also bought the status of top-flight teams after failing to earn promotion from the Championship. Usuthu replaced Thanda Royal Zulu in the Premiership in 2017, and Mpumalanga Black Aces relinquished their status to Cape Town City the year before. TS Galaxy bought Highlands Park's status in 2020, and Celtic's went to Royal AM in 2021. Royal's four-year stay in the league was even more controversial than TTM's brief stint. The club was slapped with two transfer bans by world governing body Fifa, and it was recently expelled from the PSL after it was seized by the South African Revenue Service for tax-related transgressions by its owner, Shauwn Mkhize.
Followers of soccer in the country argue that the sale of a club's status, which also allows the new owners to relocate the club they buy, diminishes the integrity of the game in South Africa and the prestige and historical significance of it.
However, according to Khoza, the league's hands are tied and not much can be done when a club is insolvent and needs to be sold.
Now SuperSport United, one of the most successful clubs in the PSL era, with three league titles, may become the latest to cease to exist. It is owned by pay TV channel SuperSport, a subsidiary of MultiChoice, which has been shedding subscribers to its DStv packages.
SuperSport United have denied the reports, insisting that they are focused on finishing the season strongly.
Considering the contributions the club has made to South African soccer since it was bought in 1994, including producing some of the country's best players, it would be a shame if SuperSport United end up leaving the Premiership. Even if it means Celtic make a comeback. DM
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.