Previously known as Silver Stars, Platinum Stars officially announced their new identity at a press conference at the Sandton Convention Centre on Monday.
The management of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) team, led by Larry Brookstone, sold 51% of the club to Royal Bafokeng Sports Holdings and this prompted a name change for the Stars.
”It’s a very sad time for me to say goodbye to Silver Stars, but at the same time, I am very excited by the changes happening to the team,” Brookstone said.
He believes that the merger with Bafokeng will improve the game in this soccer-starved area.
”We are looking to not only improve the team, but to take football to the people of North West province on a regular basis. We have big plans for the club and the people of Rustenburg as we plan to establish an academy and our base there,” he said.
Stars are still training in Modderfontein and travel to Rustenburg two days before a game to set up camp there. Their move, though, will only happen later this year as Brookstone and company finalise their operations.
”The name and logo change has happened, but moving to Rustenburg cannot be done overnight,” he stressed. ”It will take time for us to establish Platinum Stars there.”
To assist them in establishing themselves as a force in the PSL, Stars have recruited former Kaizer Chiefs PRO Putco Mafani as a communications director.
”I was humbled by the offer to join the royal Platinum Stars and know that I have a lot to learn in this new environment. My experience will help me market the brand aggressively, but the new innovations I am bringing back to the game after an absence of two seasons will be the ones to woo fans to our games.
”North West province will never be the same again and [neither] will South African football,” said Mafani.
Stars finished second in the league last season and won the inaugural Telkom Charity Cup. With their new-found fortune, the club are definitely under pressure to deliver the same results this season and have already started the league on a winning note. They beat Golden Arrows 1-0 in their first game of the season. — Sapa