A Motsepe Foundation Championship club owner appears to be the frontrunner among four potential buyers vying to purchase the status of Moroka Swallows.
With the 2023/24 season having concluded, the Dube Birds are utilising the PSL off-season to find a suitable buyer. The club has reportedly been entertaining bids from several interested parties.
Financial difficulties plagued Swallows earlier this year, leading to player protests over unpaid salaries.
The club responded by releasing most of its squad and rebuilding under coach Musa Nyatama. Thankfully, avoiding relegation allowed them to command a higher price for their franchise.
WHO’S THE FRONTRUNNER FOR MOROKA SWALLOWS’ CLUB STATUS?
Marumo Gallants chairman Abram Sello is the leading contender to acquire the Swallows franchise, FARPost has learnt.
Talks are reportedly ongoing, but a final agreement hasn’t been reached. Sello’s offer is around R45 million, meeting the Soweto giants’ minimum asking price of nothing less than R40 million.
It remains unclear if Sello intends to retain the Marumo Gallants name upon successfully purchasing Swallows.
WHO ARE OTHER THREE POTENTIAL BUYERS?
Meanwhile, Lawrence Mulaudzi, the former owner of Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, has also held talks for negotiations with the Moroka Swallows management suggesting his interest in returning to professional football ownership.
Purchasing of club statuses has become common for TTM who first bought their way into the second-tier through Milano United in 2017. In 2020, they bought the Premiership status from Bidvest Wits before they sold it to Marumo Gallants the following year.
In the same year, they bought Royal AM’s second-tier status when the Shaun Mkhize-owned side purchased Bloemfontein Celtic’s premiership status and moved to KwaZulu-Natal.
Unfortunately, TTM suffered relegation from second-tier to the ABC Motsepe League last season.
FARPost has also gathered that Maritzburg United are selling their Championship status as a way to position themselves for a potential purchase of Moroka Swallows.
And lastly, Cape Town Spurs have also appeared briefly in the picture after their enquiry about the sale of Swallows. However, they have not indicated a strong interest in making a move.
The Urban Warriors were relegated to the Motsepe Foundation Championship after a poor campaign in the 2023/24 DStv Premiership season.
RELATED STORY: Komphela exposes internal issues at Swallows, citing reasons for exit
