Revealed: When Velebayi will join Chiefs after greenlight from PSL DRC

Asanele Velebayi is finally set to complete his transfer to Kaizer Chiefs on Tuesday after the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled in his favour on Monday.

Velebayi’s move to Chiefs has been held up in the last two months after his club Cape Town Spurs slammed the brakes on the transfer, claiming he still had a contract with them even after their relegation to the third tier.

This is despite the rules stating that only the PSL and National First Division are considered professional leagues in South Africa while teams that drop to the third tier, the ABC Motsepe League, automatically see their players become free agents as it is an amateur league.

Why was Asanele Velebayi’s transfer held up?

Spurs sought legal redress, stopping Chiefs from snapping up Velebayi and his team-mate Luke Baartman for free, claiming the players could not leave as they still had pending contracts and could only do so once a transfer fee was paid. They put a R10 million asking price on Velebayi.

However, on Monday, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) confirmed that indeed Velebayi became a free agent when Spurs were relegated to the third tier and therefore free to join a team of his choice, handing Chiefs a massive boost.

Chiefs are believed to have reached an agreement with both Velebayi and Baartman in June but were waiting for the ruling to complete the transfer and according to Sportswire, the highly sought-after winger will now travel to Johannesburg on Tuesday to complete his move to Naturena.

Luke Baartman and Liam Bern awaiting their fate

While Baartman and Liam Bern, who has also agreed terms with AmaZulu FC, are still awaiting their fate, Spurs CEO Alexi Efstathiou has hinted at appealing the decision on Velebayi.

“I told you this would happen [the matter going against the club]. I have been in the game for a long time,” he told Sportswire.

It remains to be seen what unfolds next but by the time Spurs act, Velebayi will likely be a Chiefs player.

The ruling looks to have brought to an end a long-drawn-out saga involving Chiefs, Velebayi and Spurs as the player came close to joining Amakhosi last year but his club rejected several offers to sell him and now look set to lose him for free to the very team.