Minister of Sports, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Gayton McKenzie has revealed that there are several high-profile bidders vying for the ownership of Royal AM, a football club that until recently was owned by Shauwn "Mamkhize" Mkhize.
The South African Revenue Service's (Sars) curator Jaco Venter, on Thursday issued a bidding notice announcing that the club will be auctioned off in a bid to recoup a reported R40m tax debt owed by Mkhize - bids will be accepted from 8am to 1pm on March 14 and the winning bid is scheduled to be announced on March 17.
On Thursday, the Minister taking to his official X account hinted that several bidders want in on the club and entry into the lucrative Premier Soccer League (PSL).
"There are several prospective buyers," McKenzie said.
Venter confirming the latest developments in a statement saying :"Pursuant to the much-publicised financial difficulties experienced by Royal AM Football Club (Pty) Ltd (under curatorship of Mr Venter N.O.), the Directorship of the Royal AM Football Club (Pty) Ltd, the management thereof and the Curator Bonis have agreed to market and offer for sale the rights, title and interests of Royal AM Football Club (Pty) Ltd in the football club, Royal AM FC, to the open market."
A Curator Bonis is a person appointed by the High Court to manage the financial interests and assets of a person who has been declared to be unable to do so.
According to the notice, interested bidders are required to pay a refundable R1million in order to participate in the bidding process.
“The Curator Bonis of Royal AM Football Club (Pty) Ltd hereby invites all/any interested parties to submit offers for the purchase of the football club known as Royal AM as a going concern. The owner of Royal AM FC is Royal AM Football Club (Pty) Ltd,” the curator’s public notice states.
According to reports, the club is being sold as a “going concern” and the buyer will inherit all the club’s debt including the R15m due to former player Samir Nurković, which triggered a transfer ban against the club by Fifa, world football’s controlling body.
Venter further indicated that On February 17, an order was obtained by agreement, from the High Court (Kwa-Zulu Natal Local Division, Durban) under case no D13795/2024 which authorised the Curator Bonis to market and offer for sale, the rights, title and interests of Royal AM Football Club (Pty) Ltd in the Football Club publicly known as Royal AM FC.
Venter reveals that this decision was not an easy one for all the parties involved, saying that it was taken in the best interest of the club, its owners and all the parties.
"The aforementioned decision was not easily arrived at and was only taken after careful consideration and consultation with all the relevant stakeholders, including the management of Royal AM Football Club (Pty) Ltd. The Curator Bonis is endeavouring to achieve the maximum realisable value for the asset and considers the aforementioned decision to be in the best interests of the football club and in particular, the professional football players who ply their trade under the banner of Royal AM FC," Venter said.
Royal AM has not played a match since losing their PSL clash against TS Galaxy on December 29, prompting the league to indefinitely suspend their fixtures.
During this time, the club has missed nine PSL fixtures and it remains unclear if the nine games will be rescheduled, should a buyer be found. The club also has 19 games to play to complete the season which ends in May.
Attempts to contact PSL acting CEO Mato Madlala and Royal’s GM Richard Makhoba for comment were unsuccessful.
Last month, the PSL announced that its Exco had taken a decision to stop the club from taking part in the Nedbank Cup after listening to the team and the curator's representation.