Comment by Matshelane Mamabolo
DAVID Mogashoa better do right by the die-hard Moroka Swallows fans.
Reported yesterday, by SABC Sport, to be on the verge of selling the club, given their financial difficulties, the Dube Birds chairman must not allow the team to disappear into oblivion like Bloemfontein Celtic did.
And here is to hoping that the Premier Soccer League (PSL) play their part as the custodians of the professional game and ensure that we do not see the demise of yet another of those tradition-steeped clubs, like we did with Celtic and Bidvest Wits, via sales that led to name changes.
There can be no denying that running an elite league club without a financial sponsor is a tough undertaking, the monthly grant from the league notwithstanding.
And a club owner can only dip so much into his personal business coffers to bail out the club before he realises enough is enough, as Mogashoa appears to have.
That Swallows are a club in financial trouble has long been evident, that failure to honour matches – against Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows – during the season due to a players’ strike over unpaid salaries confirming that much.
It has been reported that Mogashoa was on the verge of securing sponsorships, only for legalities to throw a spanner in the works, leaving him to apparently come to this drastic decision to sell.
All good, for why should a man hold on to something he cannot financially maintain?
Congratulations Lindo "Maleven" Mtshali for winning Goal of the month 👌🏿
Stan n Kyk#MorokaSwallows#DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/KQFNc07etn
The Dube Birds’ faithful have been through a lot, though, with their club being absent from elite football for many years following their relegation back in 2015.
Mogashoa, and politician Panyaza Lesufi, restored Maswaiswai’s dignity by buying a National First Division (NFD) status before seeing the club getting promoted.
But after he became the premier of Gauteng, Lesufi left the club – a change that many believe, rightly or wrongly, led to the club’s current financial woes.
The SABC Sport report suggested that there are keen buyers who have made their interest in the club known to Mogashoa.
He can and perhaps must sell, but what should not be allowed to happen is for the new owner to rename the club and take it away from their Dobsonville base.
Such a move is sure to see many a die-hard Moroka Swallows fan – the majority of whom are pretty advanced in age – eventually dying.
And surely you do not want to have that on your conscience, do you, Weshu?