Betway Premiership: Royal AM players’ salaries revealed: Highest earns R121,000

Royal AM squad: Photo Credit: Royal AM.

Royal AM owner Shauwn Mkhize has revealed the salary structures for her embattled team, which South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) expelled from the Betway Premiership due to an outstanding court case.

The Sunday World newspaper of South Africa has reported that Mkhize revealed the salaries after going to court to challenge the PSL’s decision to expel her team from the top-flight league.

The businesswoman has applied for an urgent court order in the Johannesburg High Court to declare Royal AM’s expulsion as unlawful.

The PSL threw out the Durban-based team from the league because it was failing to fulfill fixtures, due to its legal battles with the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The revenue authority claims Mkhize owes it; hence, placed the club under curatorship.

However, in a last-ditch attempt to save the team, Mkhize has challenged assertions that she is financially handicapped, saying she has still been able to pay players’ salaries with the highest earning R121,000 and the lowest R2,000 per month.

Mkhize, according to the newspaper, attached a proof of payment for the players’ salaries into their bank accounts. Defender Thabo Matlaba was named the club’s highest-paid player, pocketing R121,000 monthly.

He is followed by midfielder Kabelo Mahlasela’s net pay of R93, 500 then Shadrack Kobedi take-home of R80, 000 per month. The court records show that Mguni is the least paid at R2,000.

Mkhize has reportedly since asked that the case be heard this week while trying to reinstate Royal AM in the Betway Premiership.