SuperSport United recently confirmed selling their Premier Soccer League status to Siwelele FC, who are now waiting for the approval of the PSL's Executive Committee.
The three-time league champions have been struggling financially, explaining why they sold their status for a reported R50 million.
Siwelele's chairman is Minister of Sports Gayton McKenzie's son, Calvin Le John. The minister is happy that the Free State Province will now enjoy professional football again, but denied reports that he was involved in making the deal happen.
‘There’s no link to me and there should not be a link'
“The people of the Free State have been deprived of football, every Tom, Dick and Jabulani promised every year they’d bring the team back,” he told eNCA in a recent interview.
“I can tell you categorically now that I’m an arm’s length, but there are family members of mine, they dug into their pocket and they got the team, and they got SuperSport [United]. And they will talk tomorrow about that, but as a minister, when I get reshuffled, I’ll go look for a job there as a mascot or something.
“But there’s no link to me and there should not be a link, but my involvement was actively public to tell South Africans, ‘I’m going to make sure that Siwelele returns to the Free State’, and it’s about to happen if the negotiations go well tonight. You see, I’m here. They are busy negotiating tonight, and it’s a proud thing for me,” McKenzie continued.
‘This is an emotional thing for the family'
“I knew nothing else, I grew up very poor. The only time my family was together, and the only time my father hugged me, was when [Bloemfontein] Celtic would score a goal. And it’s very emotional for my family, and my son has taken over our family business, because, as a minister, you’re not allowed to own a business. And he was there at the deathbed of my father; the last thing he spoke about was Celtic,” he continued.
“So, you can understand how this is an emotional thing for my family. So, we can’t sit here, and my family has the resources, and the people of the Free State are suffering. That can never happen.
“So, I was very proud when my son told me that you do what you need to do, I’m going to do what I need to do. I’m very, very proud of it,” McKenzie concluded.
