According to SuperSport CEO, Rendani Ramovha, the decision to sell the club stems from strategic restructuring aimed at ensuring the broadcaster’s survival in the face of mounting financial pressures. 

Pan-African broadcast giant, MultiChoice, has announced the sale of SuperSport United Football Club, its Premier Soccer League (PSL) team in South Africa, as it battles massive financial losses across several African markets.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the company confirmed that SuperSport United has been sold to Siwelele Football Club (Pty) Ltd., subject to final approval by the PSL Executive Committee. 

“SuperSport International would like to confirm the sale of its Premier Soccer League (PSL) club, SuperSport United, to Siwelele Football Club (Pty) Ltd. Following a closed bidding process, Siwelele F.C was awarded the rights to purchase the three-time Premiership winners, pending approval by the PSL Executive Committee,” the statement read. 

According to SuperSport CEO, Rendani Ramovha, the decision to sell the club stems from strategic restructuring aimed at ensuring the broadcaster’s survival in the face of mounting financial pressures. 

“The sale of the club comes as SuperSport makes strategic shifts to allow us to remain the biggest broadcaster in Africa and a leading global competitor. Shifts in the market, as well as the need to innovate in accordance with our core business, have necessitated focused direction to allow SuperSport to remain the best sports content provider on the continent and a leader in broadcast innovation,” Ramovha said. 

Siwelele F.C chairman Calvin Le John described the takeover as an honour and pledged to continue SuperSport United's legacy. 

“As Siwelele F.C, we are privileged to have been given the responsibility of continuing with a rich winning tradition in the PSL.

"SuperSport and the MultiChoice Group laid an incredible 30-year platform that we wish to build upon, should we get the final vote of approval from the PSL Executive Committee,” Le John said. 

He added that out of respect for the league's processes, “Siwelele F.C., MultiChoice and SuperSport will not be making any further statements pending the decision of the PSL.” 

The sale comes as MultiChoice grapples with an alarming revenue collapse across Africa, particularly in Nigeria, its largest market outside South Africa. 

MultiChoice Nigeria’s subscription revenue plunged by a staggering 44 per cent in the financial year ending March 2025, falling to $197.74 million from $355.93 million a year earlier. 

The company attributed this sharp drop to widespread customer losses in Nigeria, driven by skyrocketing inflation, economic hardship, and a mass exit of subscribers.

Nigeria’s inflation stood at 23.71 per cent as of April 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, and the naira has depreciated by over 44 per cent against the U.S. dollar, leading to foreign exchange losses of more than $158 million for MultiChoice. 

The company also confirmed that it lost 1.4 million subscribers in Nigeria alone since March 2023, accounting for 77 per cent of the 1.8 million users who abandoned the service across MultiChoice’s “Rest of Africa” (RoA) markets, which include Kenya, Zambia, and Angola.

Between April and September 2024, it shed 243,000 Nigerian subscribers as conditions worsened. At the close of its 2025 fiscal year, MultiChoice had 14.5 million total subscribers, with 7.5 million of them in RoA.

“Our performance reflects both the challenges we’ve faced and the resilience of our teams,” MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela said. 

“While macroeconomic pressures and currency volatility have weighed on our results, our disciplined execution, cost management, and investment in new long-term growth opportunities position us well for the future.”

Group-wide, MultiChoice’s subscription revenue fell 11 per cent to $2.27 billion. Operating profit dipped by 34 per cent to $263.5 million, and trading profit nearly halved to $228.14 million.

Despite the setbacks, the company reported growth in digital segments such as DStv Internet (up 85 per cent), DStv Stream (up 48 per cent), and Showmax, which saw a 44 per cent rise in active paying users.

“Our strategy is shaped by developments in our industry, such as changes in technology which are driving shifts in consumer behaviour, as well as the impact of a rise in piracy, streaming services, and social media,” Mawela added.

The decision to offload a football club built over three decades underscores the scale of MultiChoice's ongoing survival battle amid a collapsing pay-TV model in key African economies.