Betway Premiership club Royal AM’s R27-million sponsorship deal with the Msunduzi Local Municipality is under threat after the DA in KwaZulu-Natal filed court papers calling for it to be cancelled.
February 28 will be D-Day for the club as it faces off with the DA, which wants the funding to be snatched away.
The party contends Royal AM were unduly awarded the council funds. The official opposition in the ANC-run council said in court papers that the municipality could not continue to fork out public money on an entity that does not comply with the tax laws of the country.
It also wants the court to determine whether proper procedures were followed when the sponsorship was awarded and wants the council’s decision declared invalid and set aside.
“The payment by the Msunduzi Municipality of any money to the Royal AM sponsorship contract is declared to be unlawful, reviewed and set aside.
‘“All payments made by the Msunduzi Municipality to the Royal AM football club under the Royal AM sponsorship must be immediately repaid to the Msunduzi Municipality,” the party said in its court application.
While the value of the contract signed in 2023 stands at R27-million, it was expected to be released in installments of R9-million.
The DA’s Msunduzi caucus member Reggie Khanyile told Sunday World the party wanted Royal AM to repay every cent it received from the council.
“We’re pushing for them to pay the funds with interests.
“We also want to know whether Royal AM produced a tax clearance certificate when it was approved for funding because that has not been clarified,” said Khanyile.
On the pitch, the Royal AM’s shenanigans have forced the PSL to cancel and postpone its matches as it battles the SARS curator who is now in charge of the club’s finances and assets.
The PSL, on the other hand, has remained mum on actions it may take against the outfit.
The club also faces sanctions from Fifa, the world’s governing body, for failure to pay its dues to its former player Samir Nurkovic.
Royal AM took to the elite PSL in grand style as the new big spenders, flaunting hard cash in full view of the public on match days whenever the side from KwaZulu-Natal triumphed over its opponents.
Club owner and flamboyant businesswoman Shawn “MaMkhize” Mkhize bought the franchise of Bloemfontein Celtic before the start of the 2021/22 football season at a staggering amount reported to be about R50-million.
Royal AM management did not respond to requests for comment.
