The public broadcaster reported earlier this month that captain Asanele Velebayi as well as midfielder Luke Baartman had signed new contracts with Chiefs as free agents shortly after Spurs were relegated.

AmaZulu also snapped up Liam Bern with the confidence that he too was unattached given his employers were now in the amateur ranks after dropping down from the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the ABC Motsepe League.

But Spurs insist the trio have binding agreements for at least another year and had ordered them back to training and have now gone the legal route with the players hellbent on pursuing their careers elsewhere.

Chiefs and Usuthu hold the stance that players in the amateur ranks do not have professional contracts and therefore can be signed without a transfer fee, while Spurs argue they should have been approached for negotiations.

SABC Sport has seen confirmation of a virtual hearings scheduled from today onwards for Spurs, the three players – and their representatives – to make submissions before the Dispute Resolution Chamber [DRC] can make a ruling.

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It’s understood Velebayi and Baartman had put pen to paper on long term deals with Soweto giants Chiefs, while Bern has done the same at Usuthu.

The 2025/26 season kicks off with the MTN8 on the first week of August and AmaZulu take on Stellenbosch FC, while Chiefs have not qualified for the competition – so they will get their campaign underway with the Betway Premiership seven days later.

It’s likely that there could be a verdict before the league starts, but that depends on events of this week.

Finished ICC CWC Challenge League A