Cape Town City chairman John Comitis was rather cagey when asked to comment about rumours that he is in the process of acquiring the Premier Soccer League (PSL) status of newly promoted Orbit College.
When Comitis was probed on this matter he opted to only share the following with No Bones with Jones.
“All good” with a thumbs up and laughing emoji.
This comes after our website was reliably informed that Comitis is plotting an expected return to the top flight as there is just too much at stake to lose in terms of sponsorship and players – hence a return for Comitis is not a desire but a necessity.
And if there is one individual who has the football savvy and know-how, it is definitely Comitis as he has done with City when he bought the PSL status of Mpumalanga Black Aces in 2016.
Meanwhile, Comitis’ brothers-in-law who own Cape Town Spurs just cannot stop getting the tongues wagging – this time with the announcement of their ‘new’ coach in Roger de Sa (pictured).
The appointment of De Sa is another indication that Spurs are also plotting a move back to the pro ranks – and it’s not the status of Pretoria Callies but they are certainly active.
Expectations are that Spurs’ CEO Ari Efstathiou will not allow himself to be outrivalled by his brother-in-law in Comitis.
The irony of these developments is that just Monday De Sa was sitting on the bench for City and two days later he crossed ‘enemy’ lines to link up with the red side of the Mother city in Spurs.
This appointment left one bewildered because as far as one can remember it was De Sa whose winless streak of 17 games with Spurs (then Ajax Cape Town) contributed to their demise to the First Division – despite Suriname-born Dutchman Stanley Menzo and his successor Muhsin Ertugral’s SOS calls to save an already sinking ship in 2018.
The Tendai Ndoro-saga, whereby Ajax CT was found guilty and docked nine points just drove home the nail in their coffin but their destiny was already doomed. Clubs like Wits, Santos and Cape Umoya United (formerly Platinum Stars) all suffered with De Sa at the helm.
Furthermore, and without doubt the saddest and tragic tale of De Sa’s appointment is that it shows coaches of colour mean s#@t to the owners of Spurs – yes, I said it as there is a track record – but allow me to indulge you.
I mean there are well-respected, credible and qualified coaches in Cape Town like Brandon Truter, Shaun Bartlett, Duncan Crowie, Nasief Morris, David Kannemeyer, Roger Links, Arreshaat Daniels, Fadlu Davids and others who are better equipped than De Sa to handle the pressures of the unforgiving amateur ranks.
History shows that coaches of colour and especially coloured one where the majority lives, are hardly given any opportunity hence they have to leave their place of birth to get respect and recognition up north – Truter, Davids and Bartlett can testify to this – in fact all of these coaches will be able to share a common anecdote of how they are being undermined.
The fact of the matter is Spurs need a local coach who understands the players and local culture and one that cannot be fooled. A coach who knows the hardships of growing up on the Flats and what is required for talented players to achieve their dreams – not someone who was brought up with a silver spoon banking a huge paycheck.
A coach who will also be able to handle the hardship of the Second Division as it is definitely the most controversial tier in SA football with games being decided in the court almost every season.
Anyone of the above-mentioned coaches would have been a much better option – but it is because the colour is not pale enough hence the merry-go-round!
The fact of the matter is very few coaches of colour actually got the privilege to be the head coach of the senior side at Ikamva. Mind you, the last coloured to coach the senior side was Bartlett – but look at the treatment he got for his efforts.
As gloomy as football in Cape Town currently looks, there is still hope with these sweeping developments. But for the love of football in Cape Town, let’s hope that history does not repeat itself with De Sa at the helm at Ikamva.
