AmaZulu are the first South African club to confirm that they will not be able to pay the full salaries of both playing and non-playing staff this month.

According to a report from SoccerLaduma, Ushutu general manager Lunga Sokhela made the revelation to employees via a letter confirming the financial implications of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The league has been on hold since March due to the national lockdown to help combat the spread of Covid-19 virus. Clubs are already beginning to feel the pinch with AmaZulu the first to announce pending wage cuts after they had warned employees about the possibility in a previous mail. This is despite receiving the R2-million grant from the league.

‘In our industry, we have not been given any direction by the PSL regarding the reopening of the season. The impact of Covid-19 has unfortunately severely affected us,’ read the letter signed by Sokhela, according to SoccerLaduma.

‘I did make it clear in the last letter, that even though the club receives the PSL grant and has Spar as a sponsor, it still relies on other income streams and significant contribution from the owners of the club whose businesses have been severely affected by Covid-19.’

Sokhela added that AmaZulu have now applied to the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) for assistance with unpaid leave. He said that ‘this, if successful, will pay out between R3,500 and R6,700 per employee’ while they will also be ‘applying for UIF benefits where applicable’.

‘For the end of this month I can confirm that the company cannot pay salaries in full. Every effort has been made by the relevant parties to avoid this but, unfortunately, they have not yielded positive results. We will advise by Wednesday, 22 April the effects this will have on your salaries,’ the letter stated.

‘We are going through hard times and these realities are not ideal. I advise those that have obligations with creditors to contact them for relief to ease the burden it will have on your personal cashflows.’