Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane’s dream of owning another football club was crushed by the
Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday when it stopped the sale of Uthongathi FC.
According to Nkosinathi Chiliza, Uthongathi FC spokesperson, the Mpisane family had never approached the club directly to make their interest in buying the club known. And besides, the club had never been up for sale.
“We learned of the sale in the media, but as co-owners of the club, we have never been in a meeting where the sale was discussed,” Chiliza said.
“We heard that there were people who had been in meetings with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) wanting to buy the club and that there was a deal on the table which the PSL executive committee had been part of.”
Chiliza told the Sunday Tribune that the club was shocked by the PSL’s decision to postpone two of their matches at the start of the GladAfrica Championships in August without any communication. He said the move by the PSL raised suspicions and forced the club to seek legal action.
“We were confused because we were never consulted and had never written to the PSL asking for a postponement. That’s when we realised that there must have been some truth to the rumour of the sale.”
Uthongathi FC then sought an interdict, which the court granted.
“We asked the court to block the sale of our club and the court heard us and agreed. We are going to keep running the club as before and we are ready and well prepared for our next game against Ajax Cape Town on Sunday (today).”
Mato Madlala, acting chief of the PSL, said they were not aware of the high court ruling as they had not been informed of it by the club.
She declined to comment further, saying the allegations were coming from an unknown person under the banner of Uthongathi FC.
“If these allegations were coming from a registered member of the PSL than I could comment. I have to protect the club if it is coming from an illegitimate source. I do not have a Chiliza in my PSL membership forms,” she said.
Mpisane was recently under the spotlight when her 18-year-old son, Andile, aired the family’s dirty laundry on social media. His Instagram post was prompted by the ongoing
dispute between his father Sbu, and Shauwn over the ownership of the family’s Royal Eagles Football Club amidst their divorce.
In the post Andile praised his mother, Shauwn, for her resilience under trying times, her support for his passion and dedication to her business empire. He accused his father of adultery, saying he had fathered four children whom he was supporting with Shauwn’s hard earned cash.
The family is also currently shooting a reality TV show both locally
and abroad featuring Shauwn, Sbahle and Andile.
Shauwn Mpisane declined to
comment.