By Velile Mnyandu
Former AmaZulu club owners, the Sokhela family have now ventured into a new business space with the imminent launch of a booming property development project that aims to woo investors to the tune of R76 billion on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
The Sokhela’s are part of the new annual five-star event that will be launched in two months’ time and introduced as the Easter Polo Classic on 16 April 2022, one of the projects that will bring life to the Ballito area.
Sokhela, who sold Usuthu to the Zungu Investment Company (ZICO), which saw businessman and entrepreneur, Sandile Zungu, acquire 100% ownership of the club, in one of the few most welcomed football business transactions in the local game in recent years, are aiming beyond the Polo Classic event.
According to the statement sent to iDiski Times, this prestigious event will be hosted at the recently revamped venue known as The Manor House just near the upmarket Seaton Estate in the Dolphin Coast as the Ballito area is also known.
This project is being run by the Royal Shaka Property Group which includes the Sokhela family and they are the developers of what is believed to be an iconic precinct in the making and would include upmarket residential property, industrial nodes and world class resorts and hotels. Former AmaZulu general manager Lunga Sokhela, who was also the son of Usuthu owner Dr Patrick Sokhela, is the project director of this new concept working alongside Nande Mahlangeni of ANM Concepts.
The Sokhela family had been in charge of Usuthu from around 2007 until October 2020, when they announced the big sale. In several interviews that the former General Manager of the club had conducted, he was very clear about how the club was bleeding money and the arrival of the Covid-19 enforced lockdown in March 2020 made things worse and possibly fast-tracked the sale of the oldest PSL club at the time, with AmaZulu turning 90 years-old this year.
Under the Zungu’s, AmaZulu have transformed from a relegation surviving club into an African Champions League team, amongst the top 16 clubs on the continent this year, playing in the lucrative group stages. This platform allows Usuthu to market the royal green and white brand to international markets, through the millions of eye balls associated with the broadcast of this tournament and social media platforms around the world.
Almost two years since that deal took place, sold for over R50-million, the Sokhela’s are now venturing into a new business space, and they are excited about this new step.
“This is such an exciting venture for me. Even in my football days, I emphasised the importance of marketing our beautiful province. Hailing from the North Coast motivated me to jointly initiate this event and ensure it becomes iconic one for the region, The Province and The Country.
“As the Royal Property Group, we want to attract more than R 76 billion in investment on our property. This project lies in the centre of showcasing this ambitious target,” said Sokhela.
At a time when more club owners are feeling the economic crunch that has hit sporting codes since the pandemic started, with quite a sizable number of PSL club owners believed to be looking for the next buyer, the Sokhela’s are showing that there’s life after football. But also such is the profile of the game that they could now be moving into such a big space and expanding their business empire at that level.
As Sokhela says, tourism in the North Coastal KZN is one of the fastest growing industries in that province, and with this planned major development in the area, merging sports tourism and huge projects like these, could be the turning point that the ailing South African economy needs. And this also goes for international events as well.
More details around this new event, the Easter Polo Classic are expected when it’s officially launched at the luxurious Oyster Box hotel in Durban on Thursday evening.
