Mbabane Highlanders AM Football Club will retain their former name and not be rebranded after Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize missed the deadline to register herself as their new owner.
According to a Soccer Laduma report, Mkhize was supposed to register as the new owner by July 21, but Eswatini Premier Soccer League CEO Pat Vilakati says this didn’t happen.
“Yes, at the moment, the team hasn’t changed its ownership and name,” Vilakati was quoted by the publication.
“The expected new owner, Miss Shauwn Mkhize, and the old director, Bheki Simelane, were supposed to sign handover papers to register Mkhize as the new owner, but that didn’t happen, and the closing date was Monday, 21 July.
“As a league, we understand that Mkhize is supposed to pay Simelane a compensation fee because he had an 18-month contract with Mbabane Highlanders FC, which we believe Mkhize hasn’t yet paid. Simelane can’t hand over the ownership without that compensation, hence the snag in registering her as the new owner. So, for now, it’s still under Mr Bheki ‘Rubber’ Simelane’s name.”
As a result of the missed payment, Highlanders FC will kick off their new season under their old name, with “AM” not reflected on the badge.
The club had been rebranded in line with her old club Royal AM.
MaMkhize’s foray into Eswatini football comes after Royal AM were kicked out of the PSL after a number of financial problems. The club was put up for sale by SARS in order to recoup some of the R40 million she owed in taxes.
IOL Sport
