Royal AM saga could soon come to an end with the South African Revenue Services [SARS] open to bids starting at R15-million for the topflight status.
SARS are hellbent on retrieving around R40-million in tax debt linked to club president Shauwn Mkhize and her family trust, and as such view the franchise as one of the ways to collect the money.
They have now been given permission by the court to sell Royal AM and interested suitors have been given an amount in the region of R15-million, outside of other contractual obligations such as the same figure being owed to striker Samir Nurkovic following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last year.
Thwihli Thwahla are also currently banned from signing players, but that will all go away when they settle the Nurkovic and defender Ricardo Nascimento debt.
Any buyer would have to purchase the entity as a going concern, meaning the business can make a profit at some point but all its debts and standing agreements are inherited by the new owner.
While the Premier Soccer League [PSL] had been exploring the possibility of expelling the Durban-based outfit from the Betway Premiership, the latest developments is then likely to put that option on ice.
Royal AM have not been involved in any match since 29 December when they lost to TS Galaxy at the Harry Gwala Stadium, with the league suspending all their fixtures when it emerged that SARS had appointed a curator to take over the day-to-day running of the team.
According to information gathered by the public broadcaster at the time, Royal AM had also delayed salary payments to players, technical team and staff forcing the PSL to request a “letter of comfort” from the curator, James Venter.
In the absence of such a document, the league confirmed all matches would be postponed indefinitely.
The matter could soon be reaching finality with the executive committee believed to have their hands tied as SARS are controlling the entity.
SABC Sport has it on good authority that a few buyers are willing to table bids and negotiate a possible sale, although their concerns remain the number of games outstanding and the risk of relegation to the second tier if they invest.