Gallants chief insists Swallows deal on track and debts are being honoured

Marumo Gallants chair Abram Sello says the club is fully complying with its purchase agreement with Moroka Swallows and is up to date on payments, despite a court bid seeking to overturn the sale of the Premiership status.

Swallows chair David Mogashoa has approached the Johannesburg high court, asking for an order that would permit the Premier Soccer League (PSL) executive committee to cancel the transaction in which Gallants acquired Swallows’ top-flight status.

Court papers allege Gallants breached the terms of the sale by not settling the outstanding balance of the agreed purchase price. Sello bought the club in 2024 for R40m and it emerged that only R20m had been paid to date.

Speaking after a Marumo Gallants press conference in Sandton on Tuesday, Sello rejected any suggestion that the deal was in jeopardy.

“We are where we were exactly from the beginning when we made the arrangement of the sale agreement. There is nothing strange or difficult, and nothing to say the team will be reversed and all those things,” he said.

The Gallants boss stressed that both parties remain bound by the original contract and that any disagreements are being handled through legal channels.

“We had to sit around the table to sort out the differences which we thought [we had] but still stuck by the contract. There is nothing more I can say now, and we put it in the hands of the legal division, and it is working out nicely,” Sello added.

“Eight weeks ago, we sat with Swallows management and their legal team, and it is [being] sorted out very well. There is nothing strange like the way people say things through the media. We are exactly on what we agreed before.”

Debts ‘part of the deal’

Sello also underlined that Gallants inherited Swallows’ financial obligations as part of the sale and have been servicing those liabilities.

“It was a continuous payment. Swallows had some judgement and settlements which they had to pay. By the time when they sold the team, those were not done, then we had to do them on their behalf,” he explained.

He said taking on those responsibilities was unavoidable once the PSL had approved the change of status.

“And you know it is a buying concern through PSL, there is no way that you can run away from your debts, you have to continue paying them. It is an ongoing payment until we finish. I’ve got no complaints, everything is addressed.”

Sello did not provide fresh detail on specific amounts or timelines but maintained that Gallants were fulfilling what had been agreed with Swallows when the R40m sale was concluded.

Return to Royal Bafokeng Stadium

Away from the legal dispute, Sello confirmed Gallants will move their home matches back to Royal Bafokeng Stadium for the coming season after a spell in Bloemfontein.

“We went to Mangaung, it was good they received us well. But the logistics were challenging in terms of travelling, in terms of our players being tired all the time,” he said.

“Now we are going back to Royal Bafokeng, where we have an unfinished story. The community was working well with us. Unfortunately, due to facilities, we had to move.”

The club believes the switch back to Royal Bafokeng Stadium will reduce travel demands on the squad and reconnect Gallants with a community Sello says had previously offered strong backing.

The Johannesburg high court is yet to rule on the application brought by Mogashoa, while the PSL executive committee’s role in any potential cancellation of the sale will depend on the outcome of that process. Sello, however, remains adamant that the transaction stands and that all commitments to Moroka Swallows are being honoured as set out in the original agreement.