
More and more questions are being raised regarding the status of South African top tier club Royal AM after the club's upcoming Betway Premiership fixture on Thursday against Orlando Pirates was cancelled.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL), the organizing body responsible for the top two divisions of football in South Africa, released a statement following its investigation into why Royal AM was unable to honor a match scheduled for January 11 against Chippa United. After Royal AM was unable to guarantee that it could fulfill its upcoming matches the PSL's Executive Committee announced on Wednesday that Thursday's match was cancelled:
"On 17 January 2025 ExCo were informed that a joint letter of comfort (from club management and the Curator) would be provided confirming that the issues that led to the club being unable to meet its commitments had been resolved...No such letter of comfort has been forthcoming and ExCo has been left with no alternative but to cancel..."

The announcement was largely expected considering the negative publicity of financial issues and lack of payment to Royal AM players and coaches that has come out in the last couple of weeks. Reports from South African media indicate that the playing and technical staff has not been paid since December and that no training sessions have been conducted with players locked out of the training grounds.
Royal AM are owned by South African celebrity Shauwn Mkhize, whose ownership arrived with a storm of publicity as well as controversy. Mkhize, a businesswoman as well as television actress known for her flamboyant personality and public persona, came under investigation by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for fraud in 2024 after previous convictions for the crime resulting in confiscation of her assets including luxury cars. SARS indicated that Mkhize owed the government R37 million (nearly $2 million) at the time of their May 2024 raid that seized a fleet of luxury vehicles Mkhize owned.
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