Cape Town City chairman John Comitis has hinted at buying another club’s status in order to stay in the Betway Premiership.
The Citizens, who started the season harbouring hopes of a title challenge, were relegated to the Motsepe Foundation Championship this week after going down to Orbit College in a relegation/promotion match in Rustenburg.
Since being founded in 2016 after purchasing the status of Mpumalanga Black Aces, the Cape Town club have never finished outside of the top eight. And just three years ago, they were the best of the rest as they finished second in the league, 16 points behind Mamelodi Sundowns.
When speaking to Robert Marawa on MSW this week, Comitis was asked by a listener if he considered buying another team’s status in order to stay in the Betway Premiership.
“Well, that’s always an option because the PSL has allowed an entry and a window of opportunity for clubs to do that,” Comitis said on the show.
“At the end of the day, for me, it’s about providing a service for football players that can get them to the highest level. I’ve been doing it for 27 years, and it’s important that we have the right platform to be able to do that.
“I’ve got 15 youth internationals in my academy. They don’t want to be playing for an NFD club in their future; they want to be at a PSL club, and quite rightly so. We’ve created a lot of value in these players – for themselves and the club.
“We do run a business at the end of the day. We don’t ever deny that, but it’s a mutually beneficial business – everybody concerned is a winner when we have a successful player that comes through the ranks and makes it professionally. And we’ve been servicing this industry for 30 years.
“It’s a lot easier to do it at PSL level. There’s a certain funding that you have, there’s an exposure level, which is what you need. It creates value for your players and the club. All these things don’t exist in the NFD. So, for me, it’s critical that we get back into the PSL, and the shortest route is obviously the best route.”
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