Kereng took over from Jagdish Shah at the beginning of the season but he withdrew from his roles effective May 31 (last Friday). Chairperson, Bafana Pheto on Friday confirmed through a press statement that the club is currently in a smooth transition from one investor to another. He said the ongoing process is delicate and needs to be treated with the utmost care and diligence. “There are issues to be finalised before all is revealed. Once everything is finalised, the right information will be shared with the TRFC family through the relevant platforms where members, supporters and key stakeholders are addressed,” Pheto said.
He also said Prestige Funeral Group remains a partner in good standing and that the club will communicate if anything changes. According to the press statement, Kereng had been serving a three months notice ahead of the departure date after notifying the club’s executive committee. “The club took this into confidence to gently manage the transition, while briefing members through the National Branches Committees (NBCs). The two parties have agreed to a cordial handover, and mutually manage the transition,” the statement further says. According to information from the club, Kereng, through his company, Prestige Parlours Group, had been involved with the Rollers’ membership drive for two years prior to him being club president.
“His generous assistance included, but was not limited to, the acquisition of quality players; their remuneration; provision of club office and vehicles; maintaining quality training, accommodation and transportation facilities;, as well as establishing commercial partnerships such as with NTT Nissan. As Township Rollers we have greatly stabilised owing to his support and he remains a club elder. We assure all our stakeholders that Rollers is working on a commercial model with other partners and will announce these plans at the appropriate time,” the statement said.
Despite Rollers finishing another season without a silverware, they have done relatively well in the league. They finished second on the log standings, just one point less than champions, Jwaneng Galaxy. They finished the season with the best goal difference (36), scoring the highest number of goals (52) and conceding the least number of goals (16) in the process. During his tenure, Kereng managed to assist the club in bringing the likes of Thabo Rakhale, Marcel Papama and Tshepo Matete while also being able to retain quality players in Mogakolodi Ngele, Segolame Boy and Mosha Gaolaolwe.
