What are the facts?

While a number of players, including Vuyo Mere and Tebogo Langerman, have spoken out, the financial problems go beyond the playing personnel.

In May this year, former Swallows coach Brandon Truter confirmed to Soccer Laduma that he was taking the legal route against the club for the money allegedly owed to him from when his contract was terminated in November last year.

The Cape Town-born mentor said, in part, at the time, “The situation at Swallows was so bad and what made things worse is that I couldn’t resign. I couldn’t walk away because once you do that, there’s nothing in it for you. I couldn’t join a new club because of the R2 million buyout clause that Swallows put in the contract, so I couldn’t get a job because clubs had to buy me.

“(I am still owed) a lot of money, because the club didn’t pay me all of my money for the first season in the PSL, as well as all my money now (after contract termination), and there’s promotion bonuses and there’s so much that Swallows owes me.”

Prior to the coach’s revelations, there had been several reports in the media about contractual and money issues from the Swallows camp.

In March 2020, the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) confirmed winning a case at the PSL’s Dispute Resolution Chamber against Swallows for 11 players who were owed salaries.

Some of the players, as confirmed by SAFPU’s Calvin Motloung, were Nathaniel Tladi, Themba Mavundla, Sanele Queface, Vincent Sithole, Filipe Goncalves, Silindokuhle Mponzo, Deveraux Springbok, Tebogo Sodi and Sizwe Nkosi.

Fast-forward to 2022 and the club is facing similar obstacles.

In January, Mere confirmed to the Siya crew that he was considering fighting for his payout from Swallows after the club terminated his contract with six months to go.

“They gave me my clearance and I asked about my payout. They said there is a clause in our handbook that when a player is released… the termination clause…. They say there is no payout, but I am going to fight that because now I was unfairly dismissed. That one I will just leave to my lawyers. They are taking care of it,” the veteran said at the time.

And in July, Langerman confirmed to Soccer Laduma that he experienced money-related issues at Swallows last season.

Langerman said at the time, “I left early because they were no longer able to afford to pay me. I decided to ask for my clearance. When I went to Swallows from (Mamelodi) Sundowns, I took a salary cut. But I don’t want to talk too much about that now. I am not playing at the moment.”

Just last month, Thabo Mosadi became the latest player to speak up about the financial difficulties at Swallows.

He said, in part, “My contract finished and there was no money. I am owed a couple of months’ salary. Obviously, there is the Players’ Union to help players. They know my situation with the team. Obviously, if you don’t get a salary like you used to, things start changing. But it’s something I am used to now because it has been happening for several months, since last December.”