Moroka Swallows financial troubles leads to PSL fixtures cancellation

By Velile Mnyandu
27th December 2023

The financial situation at Moroka Swallows is rearing its ugly head again.

This comes after the confirmation from the Premier Soccer League (PSL) that the club’s next two Dstv Premiership fixtures against Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows have been called off.

SABC Sport received information earlier today that Swallows players are refusing to go and play the Sundowns game, as they are owed salaries by their club.

It’s also been established that the players had not camped yesterday ahead of this game.

It is not the first time that the financial situation of Swallows has been laid bare in the public, recently the club’s head coach Steve Komphela revealed that before their loss against SuperSport United, the club had not trained for 10 days, and he had to beg the players to honour the fixture.

The confirmation from the PSL is embarrassing and damaging to the biggest football brand in Sub-Saharan Africa, as this has rarely happened before the financial troubles of the club have led to the cancellation of matches in topflight football in this league.

“The Premier Soccer League has been officially notified today that Moroka Swallows Football Club is unable to fulfill its scheduled Dstv Premiership fixtures against Mamelodi Sundowns on 27 December 2023, and Lamontville Golden Arrows on 30 December 2023,” read the statement from the PSL.

Swallows has also confirmed that they had requested the cancellation of the two matches to resolve the financial dispute with the players.

“Due to an unresolved dispute between players and the management, that has resulted in the management having to request cancellation of the two remaining games of this year from the PSL, to allow time to correct the situation.

“Management would like to assure everyone within and outside the club that the process of finding one another will soon be found,” read the Swallows statement.

This development also comes at a time when speculation is rife that the Swallows top-flight status could be up for sale as their financial troubles are getting out of hand.