Marumo Gallants will provide more clarity of their pending relocation to Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

The club has been in the news for the past few weeks after buying the Premier Soccer League status from the original Soweto giants, Moroka Swallows.

Gallants confirmed that they will be making a return to the top-flight of domestic football in South Africa after the PSL approved the sale of the club, and they stated that their home games will be played in Bloemfontein.

“Following the final approval of the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Marumo Gallants Football Club officially confirms the acquisition of Moroka Swallows Football Club.

“Gallants will take over Swallows with immediate effect. The club also confirms that home games for the upcoming season will be played in Bloemfontein, Free State.

“Gallants will provide more details of plans once staff, technical teams and players have been addressed. At this stage the club will not be issuing further comments or taking interviews – a date will be communicated for a press briefing that will take place shortly.”

There is also the issue of the club’s name with reports suggesting that they will be rebranded to Bloemfontein Celtic. Celtic stopped playing in the PSL when their status was controversially sold to Royal AM mere weeks before the 2021/22 season kicked off.

In 2023, Gallants, indicated that they would play in Bloemfontein, and they did, but this didn’t last long as only a few PSL games were played in the city, while their continental matches were contested at the Dobsonville Stadium, the home ground of the Dube Birds.

In addition, Gallants were relegated from the PSL following a string of poor results at the back end of the season. This past season they played in the National First Division, but failed to secure promotion back up to the PSL, and they 11th overall in the 16-team league.

Earlier in the week Gallants announced that Dylan Kerr was re-appointed as the team's’ head coach, and he has already arrived in South Africa to start a 30-day preseason.

On Tuesday, Gallants will reveal all during a press conference in Johannesburg and on the agenda, they will discuss the teams return to the PSL. In addition, the team’s relocation to Bloemfontein, the name, home grounds, the coach and his assistant, and the player and technical team announcements will be key discussion points.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport