The deal, said to be worth R50 million, sees Celtic being dissolved 52 years after it was founded by Norman Mathobisa and Victor Mahatane in 1969.

PSL chairman, Dr Irvin Khoza, said that Celtic was no longer financially sustainable and after deliberating the matters for three days, the decision was taken with the best interest of football in mind.

“The main point is that the transition must be seamless, because there are a lot of stakeholders affected by this transition.

“There is a very important issue that we discussed, the future financial stability of the club. This is a matter that faces us every day in football.

“We want to protect the history of a club, but the issue of sustainability is a problem. Regardless of our discomfort when we deal with transitions sometimes, we must make sure we are doing the right thing.

“We must consider two things, the issue of the insolvency of the club, the risk of insolvency. If somebody says 'I cannot afford', what do you do?

“As a league, we have an obligation that the league must start with sixteen teams, we’ve got commitments with sponsors, television rights etc. We don’t have too many in our football with deep pockets. That’s why it almost took us three days to discuss this matter.

“It is very important that the players and other employees must be protected. In a case of insolvency, people lose jobs.”

The Celtic players were informed of the sale on Monday afternoon and they were instructed to relocate to Durban with immediate effect in order to start preparing for the start of the league.

Celtic was set to play against Swallows on Sunday at the Dobsonville Stadium in their opening game of the 2021/22 PSL season.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport