DURBAN - Bidvest Wits may have sold their Premier Soccer League (PSL) status, but the legacy of the club is set to continue for many more years to come.
This was revealed by the former Wits boss, Raymond Hack, who is disappointed with the manner in which Wits sale was handled. The Milpark outfit sold their PSL status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandala (TTM) of Limpopo.
Hack has vowed to keep the Students’ flag in existence as the club is due to celebrate 100 years of its existence next year.
“Wits University is not dead as yet. They sold the Premier League status, but we will still continue with our amateurs and all our juniors and if we have to build up to the Premier Soccer League, we will do that. You can’t destroy Wits University. Fortunately, we have a good relationship with the university,” Hack said.
Before changing the name to reflect their new shareholders, Bidvest Wits were called Wits University and have always been historically linked to the Milpark tertiary institution as they were formed there.
Hack said: “We have the facilities and the players. Kaizer Motaung’s son (Kaizer Junior) came through Wits. Jomo Sono’s son (Bamuza) came through Wits. We’ve got the biggest nursery in the entire country. We’ve spoken to the university and they are in agreement that we will continue with our amateurs. We won’t let it die because the sponsor sold the franchise,” he added.
Tshakhuma will be relocating to Limpopo with the elite please status, while the name Wits will remain in Johannesburg.
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Masala Mulaudzi is relocating the team to Limpopo. Picture: Twitter
“If something comes up, we will look into it but we are not a type of club that goes out to buy success. We’ve been existing for 99 years, even when we got relegated we came up the following season. You don’t buy success, you earn it on the field of play.
"Maybe it is better to build yourself up from the beginning. But, in any case, it will never be my decision but people at the University. I’ve associated with Wits for 50 years,” Hack said.
Wits have been quiet about the transaction, but on Tuesday night the club released a statement confirming that they have, indeed, sold the status to TTM.
The executive committee of the National Soccer League (NSL) still have to sit down and look at TTM application. Hack felt that the sale could have made more public to allow for potential investors who would keep the brand.
“This was done secretively. I had to ask why. If it is not about money, what is it about,” asked Hack.
“But is not my club. When we had it, we did it because of the love we have for the game. I don’t like the manner in which it was done. I can’t say anything. I feel for the coach who will have to motivate the players going forward with the last 11 games. They don’t know what their future is. It is not right,” Hack lamented.