Independent Media has gathered that the Urban Warriors are looking to bounce back to the South African Premiership through their chequebook following their failure to get promoted through the promotion play-offs. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
DURBAN - Ajax Cape Town have set their sights on buying a Premier Soccer League (PSL) status.
Independent Media has gathered that the Urban Warriors are looking to bounce back to the South African Premiership through their chequebook following their failure to get promoted through the promotion play-offs.
Ajax were at the summit of the GladAfrica table from the beginning of the season until the last two games when they were dethroned by Swallows FC.
They had another opportunity through the play-offs but Black Leopards were too strong for the lower division sides and the Limpopo side retained their PSL status.
“Ajax chairman, Ari Efstathiou, is looking to buy a PSL status. He has already enquired about Bloemfontein Celtic and SuperSport United. They are keen on campaigning in the Premier division next season. They invested so much in automatic promotion in the current season,” a source explained.
Ajax got relegated to the GladAfrica Championship two seasons ago following the Tendai Ndoro saga. In their first season they missed out on a play-off spot by goal difference.
“Ari was heartbroken when Ajax failed to gain promotion. He was really sure that this was their year. They have enquired about Celtic and SuperSport. If any of these clubs are open to negotiations, they will sit down and discuss,” the source added.
It is not known whether the two teams that appear targets are open to talks but for some time Celtic have been experiencing financial challenges and were, in fact, number one target for the TS Galaxy owners who eventually bought Highlands Park.
The SuperSport name may have emerged as a potential area of conflict of interest following DStv's takeover as the league headline sponsor. The Tshwane team is owned by sports channel SuperSport which is run by Multichoice, the owners of DStv.
“Ajax are likely to lose most of their top players if the club doesn’t acquire a PSL status. They have already lost Grant Margeman who is going to Mamelodi Sundowns. Thabo Mosadi has also left the club. More are likely to leave if Ajax don’t get the PSL status,” the highly placed source revealed.
An attempt to get hold of Efstathiou proved futile as his phone rang unanswered.
Ajax blew their lead at the summit of the table at the tail end of the season. The coronavirus affected the Urban Warriors. They were not the same in the bio-bubble environment in Gauteng.
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