Popa scores a tycoon from SA
Township Rollers are reportedly edging closer to reach an agreement with a South African businessman who is expected to reawaken the dormant giant, following the abrupt exit of Zimbabwean investor, Tendani Sebata.
The reports were partly confirmed by the club’s chairperson, Phempheretlhe Pheto, who however could not divulge much details as the deal is still being finalized.
He however noted that their previous experiences with negotiating this kind of partnerships gives them the confidence that they have found meaningful and sustainable establishment concerning the incoming investor.
“We are 99% done, we are about to close everything and move forward. Every investor is different I must note that, since the departure of Jagdish and our experiences with other investors, we have learnt a lot, we have gained invaluable experience that will enable us to make well informed decisions—we have learned to scrutinize and look deep into every detail. We have tried our best to do what is best for this club,” Pheto stated.
For the past few months, the club endured one of the toughest times in recent memory owing to financial challenges and subsequent decline of the team’s performance in the FNB Premiership.
Sebata joined Popa-Popa after local businessman, Jimmy Haskins Kereng left the club after a year in charge post Jagdish Shah’s 10 years of success at the helm of the crowd pulling Blue Nation.
BG Sport can confirm that despite the recent set-backs experienced by the club, its brand remains valuable and relevant to some of Africa’s leading entrepreneurs as another partnership with a renowned South Africa’s business magnate appears to be a done deal.
According to a close source, one of the country’s respected legal mind who also represent the society’s 20% stake in the club, Kgosi Ngakaagae, is currently facilitating all the paper works with the deal expected to be complete by next week.
“Things are looking good, I can say it is almost a done deal, by the end of next week we will be talking about possible dates to officially launch our investor and move on with plans for the season,” the reliable source from within the club stated.
Rollers has also been able to recover shares which were held by previous investor, Jagdish Shah under Township Rollers Pty/LTD which recently formed a key bone of contention presented by the outgoing investor, Sebata, claiming that the club’s operations under Popa Popa investment is not a fully legitimate status of the team.
“We managed to recoup the 100% shareholding of the Township Rollers PTY/Ltd from Jagdish so everything is good and we are ready to move on and start everything on a clean slate,” the Township Rollers chairman shared.
Despite the imminent arrival of the reported investor, Sebata is yet to completely close off his chapter with the team as there are still some issues being settled.
“We have been in touch with him, unfortunately things have been slow. We want things to move fast as we are looking to have our players report back for work on the 25th of this month as we begin pre-season plans. We are engaging with him to clear off some agreements and close off this chapter so we are hopeful that things will progress swiftly,” stated Pheto.
Township Rollers players have not been paid on time in recent months with reports emanating from the club, suggesting that the Zimbabwean businessman is bankrupt and has been struggling to sustain his obligations since October 2024.
Pheto also revealed that the incoming investor has been made aware of all the challenges faced by the club.
He further insisted that both parties, the investor and the club, agree that Township Rollers must immediately be in a position to contest for titles and compete against Africa’s best football clubs in the CAF Champions League.