Swallows FC are still dealing from the loss of a lucrative sponsorship deal with a major communications entity Telkom. The Premier Soccer League at the time, did not give the Dube Birds the all clear because the deal was in conflict with its own sponsor MTN.
As we previously reported this has led to the non-payment of players who are not playing as well as staff and officials including their own Chief Executive Officer.
Swallows have been in search of a financial giant that will back them for the last two years. Without the money that Chairman Mogashoa banked on, the club has gone into huge debt which has crippled the club financially and on the field of play.
“It was like get a job at, you resign from your job, you get an appointment letter from your new employers and you then go buy a property that is linked to your salary, and then the company says, ‘Oh, something happened, we can’t employ you anymore,” Swallows FC Chairman David Mogashoa told SABC Sport.
“What happens? You end up in big trouble because you’ve already signed up all those contracts, the house, the car, and the kids to private schools, it’s a big problem.
“So, now we have to work through that problem and make sure that everything is cleaned up before the end of this season, so that next season we start on a clean slate.”
Mogashoa went on to hit a team SuperSport United real hard because, in his opinion, they seem to enjoy the privilege of more TV Coverage than Swallows, which means they are able to attract sponsors like Jonsson Workwear and fintech brand iKhokha.
“Of course, SuperSport United are benefitting from more TV games. SuperSport has never had a no-TV game, all SuperSport’s games are broadcasted. So that is an easy sell when they go to sponsors. They can assure them that all their games are going to be televised,” Mogashoa continued.
“They are benefitting and it’s an advantage for them. For us, we just have to forget about the Telkom issue, try to be consistent on the field and once we are consistent then we’ll get a sponsor.”
The Dube Birds however find themselves on 21 points, third from the bottom, three points above Marumo Gallants who are at the base of the table. Managing one win in the last five games, now finding a sponsor is the least of their problems.
The head coach, Ernst Middendorp was appointed before Christmas on a three-year contract but motivating the team to get themselves away from the relegation zone will be huge, given the psychological effect on them due to their financial constraints.
