DURBAN – Rumours are rife that players of GladAfrica Championship outfit Real Kings have suffered a 60 percent salary cut due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the club.
And this past weekend prominent businesswoman, Shauwn Mkhize, addressed those allegations. Speaking on Ukhozi FM on Saturday, Mkhize - one of the owners of the KwaZulu-Natal club - rubbished the rumours.
“The salary bill of Real Kings is three times the grant that we receive from the (PSL),” said Mkhize. “We didn’t cut players’ salaries by 60 percent, but we gave them 60 percent of their salaries. We reduced their salaries by 40 percent. I’m hurt to hear that my players are livid with that decision. I don’t think they can do that to me after all I’ve done for them.”
Mkhize is one of the richest women in South Africa.
“I’m like a mother to these players. Not a single one of them has reached out to me to express his disappointment about our decision. They can phone me and they have access to me in various ways,” she added.
“I’m surprised by these rumours that players are livid but, Covid-19 will pass and we will address this issue with them and they will tell me what it is that they are not happy with.”
Kings reached the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals where they succumbed to Wits earlier this season before the SA government instituted the nation-wide lockdown to curb the infection rate of Covid-19. At one stage Kings were challenging for the PSL promotion/relegation playoffs, but faded away due to a lack of consistency.
“Government has given us a holiday period for the payment of bonds and cars and we welcomed that,” Mkhize said. “What is good about my players is that they don’t pay rent. They’ve got their own facility that we built for them.
"They don’t rent, they don’t buy food, they eat a three-course meal a day, they don’t wash their clothes, they’ve got a laundry at the premises, they don’t pay for DStv and they don’t travel to the training ground with their cars. The training facility is where they stay."
“So, I don’t think they can be so livid with our decision because we explained the consequences that the coronavirus might have going forward.”
The club boasts former PSL players like Edward Manqele, Moeketsi Sekola, Edmore Chirambadare and Sedwyn George.
“Our players only worked for two weeks last month, but I paid them in full in that particular month. We explained to them that it is not going to be possible to pay them in full if this pandemic continues. I get money to sustain this team if my businesses are active."
"If they are not happy with something, they should come to me. There’s no one who is always right at all times. We didn’t just surprise them on a payday, but we explained the whole situation to them,” Mkhize quipped.