Unpaid player deals come back to haunt Moroka Swallows

Two years after defunct PSL club Moroka Swallows sold its top-flight status to Bloemfontein-based side Marumo Gallants, fresh allegations have emerged that some of the club’s seasoned players and service providers are still owed more than half-a-million rand linked to their time at the Dube Birds.

Football agency Prosport International claims that players procured by Moroka Swallows prior to its sale are allegedly owed more than half-a-million rand in unpaid procurement fees and an outstanding acknowledgment of debt allegedly signed by the club.

At the centre of the dispute are agreements tied to the recruitment and registration of players represented by prominent football agent Mike Makaab and his agency, including Malawian striker Gabadinho Mhango, former captain Ntsikelelo Nyauza and defender Kopano Thuntsane.

According to particulars of a claim filed in the Johannesburg high court on April 24, Prosport alleges it “represented the player and conducted the transfer of the player’s football registration” in relation to Mhango’s move to Swallows under a written procurement agreement concluded in August 2023.

The agency further claims Moroka Swallows acknowledged that Prosport, “as an intermediary, was instrumental in the player being registered with Moroka Swallows in order to play professional football” for the club.

Court papers state Moroka Swallows agreed to pay Prosport R160,000 plus VAT during the first contractual cycle, with a further R171,200 plus VAT due the following season.

The agreement allegedly provided that should the club “default on any payment on its due date, then the full amount shall be payable on demand”.

A copy of the procurement agreement attached to the court papers appears to bear the signatures of former Swallows boss David Mogashoa.

Prosport claims Moroka Swallows later breached the agreement by “failing and/or refusing and/or neglecting to comply with any of its obligations, whether in full or at all”.

The agency says the club still owes R147,660 linked to the Mhango deal alone.

The legal dispute also extends to Nyauza and Thuntsane.

In Nyauza’s case, court papers allege Moroka Swallows entered into another procurement agreement with Prosport in February 2024 relating to the player’s registration between February and June 2024.

The club allegedly agreed to pay R15,000 plus VAT in instalments, but Prosport claims R17,250 remains outstanding on the agreement.

The Thuntsane agreement, signed in March 2024, allegedly covered the player’s registration over multiple contract periods extending to 2027. The agency claims Moroka Swallows still owes R14,950 linked to that arrangement.

Moroka Swallows has only paid the amount of R266,556.25 ... the full outstanding balance of the debt, in the sum of R400,000 is now immediately due, owing and payable.

—  Papers filed in Johannesburg high court

But the matter goes beyond player procurement agreements alone.

In what appears to be the most significant aspect of the case, Prosport alleges Moroka Swallows signed an acknowledgment of debt in February 2025 in which the club “acknowledged indebtedness to the plaintiff in the capital sum of R666,556.25”.

The court papers state the debt related to “professional services rendered by the plaintiff at the defendant’s special instance and request”.

According to the claim, Moroka Swallows undertook to repay the debt through monthly instalments ranging from R66,556.25 to R100,000.

However, Prosport alleges the club only partially complied before defaulting.

“Moroka Swallows has only paid the amount of R266,556.25,” the papers read, adding that “the full outstanding balance of the debt, in the sum of R400,000 is now immediately due, owing and payable”.

Transactional statements filed in court appear to reflect payments received from Swallows, alongside invoices linked to several players, including Mhango, Andile Jali and Gregory Damons.

Prosport further argues that despite demand, Moroka Swallows has “failed and/or neglected and/or refused” to settle the outstanding amounts.

The dispute again places the troubled Dube Birds under the spotlight following years of financial instability, ownership uncertainty and operational turmoil that repeatedly engulfed the once-proud Soweto club before its PSL status was sold.

Swallows’ financial struggles previously spilled into public view through reports of unpaid salaries, transfer disputes and administrative difficulties.

The latest court action threatens to deepen questions around the club’s ability to meet contractual obligations involving player recruitment and intermediary agreements.

While procurement agreements involving football agents are standard practice in the professional game, disputes over unpaid intermediary fees have increasingly become a recurring feature in South African football litigation.

Moroka Swallows has since filed a notice of intention to defend the action, signalling the club intends opposing Prosport’s claims.

The notice, filed through Botha Massyn & Thobejane Attorneys, does not yet set out the club’s defence on the merits of the dispute.

Unless settled, the dispute is now expected to proceed through the high court process, where Moroka Swallows may ultimately be forced to explain why the alleged player procurement agreements and debt acknowledgment were not honoured.