Reviving Cape Town Spurs FC
AFTER failing to regain football professional status in South Africa, the 51% stake that Ajax Amsterdam held in Ajax Cape Town has been sold to Cape Town Stars (CTS).
The latter, up until now, has been a minority shareholder of Ajax Cape Town. The great news is that the franchise will be rebranded and revived, as Cape Town Spurs FC.
The recollections and history of Cape Town Spurs have vanished from the memory banks of the current football fraternity.
You will have to be of my generation to remember that this dynamic club birthed such stars as Shaun Bartlett,
Andre Arendse and David Kannemeyer.
Cape Town Spurs is a product of the now-defunct Federation Professional League (FPL) that was formed in 1969 to promote football among Indians and coloureds. It folded in 1990, when it merged with the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) to form a unified professional soccer league.
Who can forget how the former FPL team, Manning Rangers, went on to win the inaugural league title? Just the name CTS resonates and evokes memories of the FPL heydays.
They ran amok in the playing fields, annexing seven league titles between 1970 and 1981. As if that was not enough, it produced three Players of the Year: Danny Abraham in 1973, Bernie Van Niekerk in 1977, and Boebie Solomons in 1980. The FPL’s Top Goalscorer Awards went to Bernard Hartze in 1970/1, Neville Londt in 1974, and Kader Sulaiman in 1979 and 1981.
CTS was the epitome of Struggle football and it was at the forefront of fighting the stigma of racism in the sport. Cape Town has delivered some remarkable soccer outfits over the decades, notable sides like Hellenic, Arcadia and Santos.
I continue my meander down memory lane in the annals of FPL football and the 1974 Coco-Cola Knock-Out
Cup Final, between CTS and Manna Govender’s Berea. It must rate as an all-time classic.
Cup Final days at Currie’s Fountain, the Mecca of non-racial football, was always a carnival atmosphere. In a nail-biting match, Berea eclipsed CTS 4-3, but all the stars of yesteryear were there. Daya Maistry, Ficky Valley, Duda Munsamy and Scampy Bissessor shone for the Durban side, while Peter Sables, Clive Darries, Seraj Abbas and Boebie Solomons put up a gallant effort for the Capetonians.