PSL board expected to end Royal AM saga

Board expected to ratify exco recommendation and expel tax-troubled KZN club

10 April 2025 - 10:27
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Royal AM players warm up before their game against Galaxy in December 2024, which was the beleaguered club’s last competitive match.
Royal AM players warm up before their game against Galaxy in December 2024, which was the beleaguered club’s last competitive match.
Image: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix

The long-running saga of crisis-hit Royal AM should reach finality on Thursday when the PSL’s board of governors convenes to discuss the matter at the Sandton Convention Centre.

The board is expected to ratify a recommendation made by the PSL’s executive committee (exco) last week that the KwaZulu-Natal-based club be expelled

This would apparently bring to an end the saga that started after owner Shauwn Mkhize fell foul of the SA Revenue Service (Sars), leading to the team being put under curatorship in November. Royal have not kicked a ball competitively since their 3-1 Betway Premiership defeat against TS Galaxy at Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on December 29.

The PSL exco's recommendation came soon after an attempted auction by the Sars curator fell through because the winning bidders failed to pay an agreed amount. 

The expulsion of the club will have a significant affect on the Premiership as the league will finish with 15 teams and all Royal’s results from the 11 matches they have played this season will be expunged.

Several teams who had faced Royal could see their points tally changed once the decision has been finalised, leading to a change in the Premiership standings. Perennial champions Sundowns, who are leading second-placed Orlando Pirates by 12 points, will see the three points they won from Royal forfeited, though they will also lose a game played.

Polokwane City, AmaZulu, Golden Arrows and TS Galaxy, who also notched victories against Royal, should brace themselves for reduced tallies.

At the other end of the table, surprise relegation candidates SuperSport United will lose a point after they drew their match with Royal in September, while Cape Town City and Richards Bay will also see their points forfeited, plunging them into deeper trouble.

Tuesday’s meeting has five agenda items, but the most pressing are listed as “A and B: To consider the recommendation of the executive committee that the membership of Royal AM be cancelled ...  and to cancel and/or terminate its membership”.

Royal expulsion does not come as a shock as trouble at the club has been brewing since 2023, when they were slapped with a Fifa transfer ban for failing to settle the contract of striker Samir Nurković.

The Royal circus: a timeline

  • October 2024: Royal booted out of the DStv Diski Challenge after failing to field a team, mainly due to a Fifa transfer ban.
  • November 2024: Sars seizes control of several of Shauwn Mkhize’s assets, including the club.
  • January 2025: Players go on strike after nonpayment of December salaries. Royal’s match against Chippa United is postponed.
  • January 2025: The PSL suspends all Royal fixtures until further notice.
  • March 2025: A Sars curator invites bids to buy the club at auction.
  • March 2025: The players return to training amid news of a potential buyer.
  • March 2025: A Sars curator confirms deal to purchase the club has collapsed after the winning bidder, Global Investment, fails to pay.
  • April: PSL executive committee recommends expulsion of Royal AM from the elite league.
  • April: Several Royal players leave the club, citing breach of contract.

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