Royal AM are set to land a whopping R9 million deal at the expense of Maritzburg United who suffered relegation to the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Not only does Team of Choice have to deal with the dilemma of losing the crucial members of their squad. But they’ll also be losing the financial backing of the local municipality in the Midlands.
The Msunduzi Municipality who’ve been backing the club since the 2014/15 season have terminated the current sponsorship with the club. The agreement between the two was due to expire at the end of the 2023/24 PSL season.
According to a Msunduzi Municipality notice dated 18 July 2023, the agreement with Maritzburg had a condition. It stipulated that the club remains in the top-flight.
MARITZBURG UNITED LOSE SPONSOR TO ROYAL AM
“The most recent [3] sponsorship agreement between the Msunduzi Municipality and MUFC was due to expire at the end of June 2024,” the notice reads as seen by FARPost.
“Due to the relegation to the National First Division, the current sponsorship agreement will be terminated as one of the conditions of the sponsorship was for the Club to remain in the Premier Soccer League [PSL].”
As a result, the Msunduzi Municipality drafted a proposal to offer the other Pietemaritzburg-based club Royal AM a sponsorship of R9 million that goes along with a number of benefits.
ROYAL AM LAND R9 MILLION DEAL
“Since the imminent termination of the agreement with MUFC, it makes sense to identify the suitable local soccer club that the municipality can establish a relationship with that will see the same benefits spin-offs that the city has enjoyed since 2014,” the report added.
The Msunduzi Municipality also added they didn’t want Harry Gwala Stadium to become a “white elephant”. According to the report, they maintain the stadium “according to and meets all the compliance requirements of the PSL.” And they are afraid it will not get its full potential use if there is no top-flight football.
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