Plat Stars staying put, says De Sa after sale
Johannesburg-based Rawat Petroleum is the firm behind the consortium that has bought Platinum Stars from Royal Bafokeng Holdings for R22.5m‚ the club said on Thursday.
In a controversy-tinged‚ open media conference at the team’s base at Royal Marang Hotel in Rustenburg‚ coach Roger de Sa said he was part of the four-man consortium.
Two of the other members were based in Cape Town‚ De Sa said‚ and one in Johannesburg.
Emotional community leaders who attended the briefing alleged there had been a rival offer of R33m by a Phokeng businessman‚ Thabo Mokgatle‚ where Stars are based. But Royal Bafokeng representative Kgosana Rapetsana denied any knowledge of such a bid.
The sale of Stars‚ who are last in the Premiership‚ went through on Thursday.
“Yes‚ we are a consortium. The club will not be moving from here. The colours are the same‚ the name is the same‚” De Sa said.
“We’re not looking to do anything drastic right now. More important is our position in the league‚ and that’s the main focus‚ and to try and get out of the position we are in.”
De Sa said the other members of the consortium were “private people” who did not want their identities revealed.
Stars chairman Cliff Ramoroa‚ who it was revealed last week is at the centre of 35 charges of money laundering‚ corruption and fraud being investigated against Stars’ board members by the Hawks‚ said his position at the club ended on Thursday. The investigation was opened after allegations made to the Hawks by Mokgatle.
De Sa said he would take over some administration of the club‚ accompanied by existing staff members. He said it would be a similar arrangement to “when I was at Wits”, referring to when De Sa once performed a coaching and administrative role at Bidvest Wits.
De Sa was pressed by the sceptical community leaders on whether the new owners’ intentions to not move the club were for just the near future‚ or longterm too. “We don’t have intentions of moving. We have got a contract in place with the Royal Bafokeng that we are going to be staying here‚” he said.
“We’re here. We’re not changing anything for now‚ unless things change drastically,” he said.
“We’re definitely here until the end of the season. That’s non-negotiable. But [after that] why should we move if we’ve got one of the best facilities in the country and a beautiful stadium and a city that kind of accepts the team‚ and most of the employees work from here?”
Stars play at the 45,000seater Royal Bafokeng Stadium and train at the Royal Marang Hotel‚ built as a base for England at the 2010 World Cup.
Rawat Petroleum appear to be owned by a parent company based in Sudan. /