Roy Moodley defends family's bid for Royal AM despite payment controversy

Durban businessman Chockalingham Roy Moodley, 71, remains confident that his family’s bid for Royal AM soccer club will be successful despite not meeting Thursday’s payment deadline.

The South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) curator, Jaco Venter, placed the club under curatorship following the seizure of the team from its owner, Shauwn Mkhize, due to an alleged tax debt of R40 million.

Directors of Global Investments, Mageshpren Moodley and Denise Govender, won the bid to buy the Betway Premiership club. In March, the club was placed on the market, attracting several high-profile bidders, all vying for the opportunity to acquire its PSL status.

However, the terms of the agreement were unequivocal: failure to remit the payment within the stipulated timeframe would result in the collapse of the deal.

Venter confirmed in a statement that despite multiple payment requests, Global Investments had failed to deposit the agreed-upon sum into the trust account.

Speaking on behalf of his son, Roy Moodley said there were no payment issues regarding the purchase. He said negotiations are ongoing and a statement will be released soon.

"We did not fail to pay. This statement is unacceptable. Payment was not a problem; the undertaking from the sellers was not forthcoming especially that Royal AM would not be able to complete the 19 games in the specified time period. There are lots of wrongful opinions floating around which is totally unacceptable and untrue." 

Moodley said his interest in local football spans decades when he played for Chatsworth United, adding that many soccer players stood out for him, including Jomo Sono.

He was also an avid fan of English Premier League team, Newcastle United.

Moodley insisted that both his and Mageshpren’s names were being tarnished by the media and that they both had a passion for grassroots level football development. He claimed that Mageshpren’s capability of managing businesses may help Royal AM navigate its challenges and improve the team.

Last year, Moodley conceived and sponsored the Roy Moodley legacy cup, a junior football tournament in Phoenix.

He has also pledged R1 million over five years to sponsor the inaugural intercity football championship under the SAFA eThekwini region football association.

Last month, the Msunduzi Municipality was taken to the Pietermaritzburg High Court by the Democratic Alliance over the intention to sponsor Royal AM with R27 million of taxpayers' money.

Moodley also contested in the 2024 elections with his political party, the African Movement Congress (AMC). At the time,  he said he was passionate about focusing on the sports and recreation portfolio if he was elected into government.

Prior to the elections, Moodley confirmed a sponsorship for the Phoenix SAFA FIFA.

Last week, at an AMC meeting in Durban, Moodley repeated that politics and parliamentary participation and representation has to include sports, arts, and recreation to build a new society of cultural diversity and hope for the future.

"We believe that football is the way forward. I can assure this historic community of soccer that these participating communities will produce national caps for the Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana national squads," he stated.

Moodley is also the former CEO of Royal Security, one of the largest private sector safety and security companies in South Africa. He also owns race horses.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za