Maritzburg United chairman Farook Kadodia says Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs would collapse if they do not receive the monthly grant from the league.
The Team of Choice owner says they have always been forced to sell their players for them to maintain the club’s day-to-day running, but says because of the coronavirus pandemic, it has become difficult to enter the market.
Kadodia’s utterances come after the PSL chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza recently announced that should the top-flight campaign not resume, clubs must be prepared to find financial resources elsewhere.
“I must concede that 70% of the PSL teams cannot survive without the grant, and football would be doomed,” said Kadodia in a virtual media conference as quoted by Phakaaathi.
“The reality is that the grant plays a pivotal role in every team. It would be impossible to sustain the clubs without the grant.
“It is quite a difficult situation, it is challenging for everyone – football or in general. Life has changed, players basically without being active for so many weeks have their own challenges. How many weeks will they need to get back into shape?
“As Maritzburg United, we have always operated on a shoe-string budget and we cannot make any plans without a budget. Our plans have been halted. We hope we can get past this virus soon so we can be able to plan for the future.”
While Maritzburg duo of Rushine de Reuck and goalkeeper Richard Ofori have been linked with Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, Kadodia will consider selling some of his players.
“I must concede that we have had a good trading model, it went very well in the past. The status financially is what I believe is a financial meltdown,” he added.
“But under the current circumstances, every club is playing the wait-and-see game. The biggest challenge is that we have to trade players again.
“It is difficult for us at this stage to enter the market, either to buy or sell the players.”
As things stand, PSL clubs receive a R2,5 million monthly grant from the league and it remains to be seen if the KwaZulu-Natal outfit will eventually part ways with De Reuck and Ofori as they look to make some money.
