Royal AM Booted from PSL as SARS' Plans to Sell it Fail

(The Post News)– The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has officially terminated Royal AM’s membership, bringing to a close one of the most turbulent chapters in South African football. The decision was confirmed after the PSL’s Board of Governors ratified a recommendation from its executive committee during a meeting held at the Sandton Convention Centre this week.

Representatives from all 31 professional clubs, excluding Royal AM, voted in favour of expelling the KwaZulu-Natal side from the league. The club had been under curatorship since December 2024 due to a staggering R40 million debt owed to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

According to PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza, the league had reached the point where continuing to accommodate Royal AM was untenable. “There was no operational certainty or guarantee that fixtures would be fulfilled,” Khoza said, referring to multiple games that were called off after players went unpaid.

After SARS made several unsuccessful attempts to sell the club through the designated curator, the situation only got worse. Due to issues with terms of payment and the intimidating responsibility of inheriting Royal AM’s financial burden, which included an outstanding FIFA transfer ban and a SARS tax bill, potential buyers withdrew. With no viable deal materialising, the club was effectively unsalable.

Royal AM hasn’t played a competitive fixture since December 2024. The PSL has confirmed that all 11 matches the team played this season will now be voided, a decision that resets the log and could impact the title race and relegation fight alike. Mamelodi Sundowns, current log leaders, are expected to see a deduction in points, narrowing the gap between them and second-placed Orlando Pirates.

Lunga Biyela, a veteran South African football journalist, said the club “treated the league like a personal playground”, arguing that the expulsion was “long overdue”. The club made headlines in 2021 when Shauwn “MaMkhize” Mkhize bought the top-flight status of Bloemfontein Celtic after failing to gain promotion through the courts. Her son, Andile Mpisane, then 19, was named chairman and even featured on the pitch wearing the number 10 jersey despite lacking the required fitness or form for top-level football.

The PSL has also had to deal with Royal AM’s off-field antics over the years, including cash bonuses handed out to players on the pitch and disputes over unpaid contracts involving former players like Samir Nurkovic and Ricardo Nascimento. FIFA slapped the club with a ban in 2023 after Royal AM failed to settle with Nurkovic.

Meanwhile, MaMkhize may already be plotting her next move. Last weekend, she was spotted alongside Eswatini’s King Mswati III at the Ingwenyama Cup final, sparking rumours of a possible involvement with Moneni Pirates. When asked about it, Mkhize said she was invited by the club’s president and hinted at ongoing talks – but stopped short of confirming anything concrete.