Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Irvin Khoza has given a sense that Free State business people didn’t raise their hand to buy Bloemfontein Celtic, hence the club is relocating to KwaZulu-Natal.
He confirmed the sale of Celtic, adding that the club will be renamed Royal AM just days before the start of the new season.
Khoza said the club has been sold to Royals in accordance with article 14 of the National Soccer League (NSL) handbook. "Our hearts are saying it should remain where it is to protect the heritage, the culture and the history of the particular club,” Khoza said yesterday.
“The main point is that the transition must be seamless because there are a lot of stakeholders affected by this transition. There is a very important issue that we discussed, the future financial stability [of the club and the league as a whole]. This is a matter that faces us every day in football.
"We want to protect the history of a club, but the issue of sustainability is a problem. Regardless of our discomfort when we deal with transitions sometimes, we must make sure we are doing the right thing."
Khoza added: "We must consider two things: the issue of the insolvency of the club, [and] the risk of insolvency. If somebody says 'I cannot afford.' What do you do?
"As a league, we have an obligation that the league must start with 16 teams, we’ve got commitments with sponsors, TV, etc. We don’t have too many in our football with deep pockets. That’s why it almost took us three days to discuss this matter.”
Khoza also mentioned saving the future of the players and other employees at Celtic. "It is very important that the players and other employees must be protected. In a case of insolvency, people lose jobs,” he said.
“This one took us three days discussing and we had to make sure that we communicate with Safpu (South African Football Players' Union) and made them aware that we are taking this matter. But some mechanisms are taking place because there is always a requirement to happen with the players."
The transaction saw Royal AM take ownership of Celtic's PSL status and relocate the club from the Free State to KwaZulu-Natal, while Royal AM's GladAfrica Championship status was acquired by Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in Venda, Limpopo.
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