Shauwn Mkhize Set to Trim the Salary Fat at Royal AM in the New Year

• Upstarts Royal AM are set to offload several players at the beginning of 2022 in order to ease their high wage bill
• MaMkhize's outfit is currently top-heavy with over 45 players on its roster as a result of its merger with Bloemfontein Celtic this year
• Among the players set to leave are Moffat Mdluli, Ronald Pfumbidzai and Siphelele Luthuli due to their limited playing time

Royal AM will look to tighten the belt in a cost-cutting exercise at the beginning in the new year.

MaMkhize's charges appear to be feeling a financial pinch and only the offloading of playing personnel can ease the pressure. This was revealed on Soccer Laduma amid rumours that the club had a higher-than-acceptable wage bill.

The report stated that Royal AM's squad is heaving with over 45 players on its roster. This is because owner Shauwn Mkhize bought out Bloemfontein Celtic and its DStv Premiership licence while her charges were still in the National First Division below. The Celtic players then had to be incorporated into AM, which upset the wage bill.

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Football

Among the players set to leave the club are Moffat Mdluli, Ronald Pfumbidzai and Siphelele Luthuli, who have hardly kicked a ball on the pitch thus far this season.

After an unconvincing start to the season, Royal AM has settled nicely into the pace of the Premiership. They currently sit in a Top 8 place in seventh having amassed 26 points, still in with a chance of a podium finish.

Their biggest claim to fame this season has been their dominance of Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs. They have beaten the Amakhosi twice, home and away, starting with a 4-1 hiding in Johannesburg before completing the demolition job with a 1-0 win in Durban.

Pitso Mosimane to face former club as Sundowns and Al Ahly clash

Pitso Mosimane will return home to face his former side Mamelodi Sundowns when the Brazilians do battle with his current side, Al Ahly.

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Sundowns and Al Ahly were drawn in the same group in the TotalEnergies Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League.

Al Ahly will be looking to win their 11th CAF Champion's League trophy and the third in a row with Mosimane at the helm. Sundowns will be looking to lift their second trophy, having already won the tournament once when Pitso was still coach.