Marumo Gallants chair Abram Sello says the club is fully compliant with its agreement to buy Moroka Swallows’ Premiership status and is continuing to service the debts taken over as part of the 2024 deal.
Sello moved to defend Gallants’ position after Swallows chair David Mogashoa approached the Johannesburg high court in March, seeking an order that would allow the Premier Soccer League (PSL) executive committee to cancel the sale.
Court papers argue that Gallants allegedly breached the sale agreement by failing to pay the outstanding balance of the agreed purchase price.
Sello bought the Premiership status of Swallows in 2024 for R40m, with only R20m initially paid – a figure that has fuelled speculation over whether the transaction is in jeopardy.
Speaking to reporters in Sandton on Tuesday, shortly after a Marumo Gallants press conference, Sello insisted there was no basis for claims that the deal could be undone.
“We are where we were exactly from the beginning when we made the arrangement of the sale agreement. There is nothing strange or difficult, and nothing to say the team will be reversed and all those things,” he said.
Legal talks ‘working out nicely’
Sello stressed that discussions between the two clubs and their legal representatives had reaffirmed the original contract rather than reopened it.
“We had to sit around the table to sort out the differences which we thought [we had] but still stuck by the contract,” he continued.
“There is nothing more I can say now, and we put it in the hands of the legal division, and it is working out nicely.
“Eight weeks ago, we sat with Swallows management and their legal team, and it is [being] sorted out very well. There is nothing strange like the way people say things through the media.”
Swallows debts ‘part of the package’
Sello also underlined that Gallants had accepted responsibility for Swallows’ existing financial obligations when the transaction went through – including judgments and settlements that had not been concluded at the time of the sale.
“It was a continuous payment. Swallows had some judgment and settlements which they had to pay. By the time they sold the team, those were not done; then we had to do them on their behalf,” he said.
“And you know it is a buying concern through PSL. There is no way that you can run away from your debts. You have to continue paying them.
“It is an ongoing payment until we finish. I’ve got no complaints. Everything is addressed.”
Return to Royal Bafokeng
Away from the legal dispute, Sello confirmed that Marumo Gallants will be relocating back to Royal Bafokeng Stadium for the coming season after a spell in Bloemfontein.
The club had shifted its home base to Mangaung, but the chair said the move had proved unsustainable from a logistical and performance perspective.
“We went to Mangaung. It was good, they received us well. But the logistics were challenging in terms of travelling, in terms of our players being tired all the time,” he said.
“Now we are going back to Royal Bafokeng, where we have an unfinished story. The community was working well with us. Unfortunately, due to facilities, we had to move.”
The dispute between the clubs over the sale of Swallows’ Premiership status remains before the courts, but Sello maintains that, from Gallants’ side, payments and obligations arising from the 2024 agreement are being honoured as set out in the original contract.
