Durban — The Chairman of Cape Town Spurs Ari Efstathiou has opened up about the club’s toxic relationship with European giants Ajax Amsterdam that led to the collapse of Ajax Cape Town.
The arrival of Ajax Amsterdam on South African shores in 1999 to form a partnership with Cape Town-based Seven Stars brought about groundbreaking possibilities.
The two entities collaborated to bring about not only hope but one of the most revered football schools in South African history, the Ajax Cape Town Academy.
However, various disputes in the boardroom combined with a supposed lack of productivity, and relegation from the top flight saw the crumble of the coalition as Amsterdam dumped their 20-year project and sold their stake in the club.
The ‘break up’ of these two entities saw the rebirth of Cape Town Spurs in the second division in 2020.
Still nicknamed the Urban Warriors, the club reinvented itself and have finally reaped the rewards as they gained promotion back into the top flight after a five-year absence.
A representative of the Efstathiou Family (who now fully own the club) spoke to members of the media following the side’s promotion, lifting the lid on what had been an unhealthy tie between them and Amsterdam.
“You must remember that in the greater scheme of things, we were just a little pimple in South Africa. All they were interested in was seeing how many players they could get from us for the lowest price possible. They hardly contributed any money for 20 years,” he told the media.
The Ajax Academy was famous for exporting some of the country’s biggest stars with the likes of Steven Pienaar and Thulani Serero on that list.
While Efstathiou acknowledged Amsterdam’s contribution to their youth structures, he also revealed that the arrangement was one that mainly benefitted the European club, leaving the Cape Town base to fend for itself.
“They helped us in situations with regards to giving us one or two coaches and maybe a head of development but either than that we held our own and that's why we always had to sell players because they refused to put money in.” he said
He further added: “At the end of the day we had to sit back see what we want out of the club and what do they want and we wanted success, we wanted to win the league and promote young players and they weren’t interested in whether we won the league, or didn’t make money ... they just wanted to see how many players they could get.”
IOL Sport