Cape Town Spurs F.C. (formerly known as Ajax Cape Town) is a South African professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in Parow in the city of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

that plays in the

National First Division The National First Division (NFD), officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African club association football, football after the South African Premier Division. Both t ...

. Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

was their parent club and majority shareholder after a merger of both Cape Town Spurs and Seven Stars in January 1999 until selling its shares in September 2020.

History

Cape Town Spurs were formed on 11 January 1970, competing in the National Professional Soccer League from 1971 until 1984, and the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

from 1985 to 1996, winning the championship in the final season, before the establishment of the

South African Premier Division The South African Premier Division, officially referred to as the DStv Premiership for sponsorship purposes, is the premier men's professional football/soccer league and the highest division in the league system of South Africa, organized sinc ...

that same year. The club also won league and the Cup in 1995, then known as the

Bob Save Super Bowl The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance ...

. In 1999 Ajax Cape Town was formed via the amalgamation of two Cape Town-based teams, Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs, as

expanded their worldwide talent-feeder network to South Africa, with the club adopting the club crest of the Amsterdam-based club. Ajax Cape Town was originally founded by John Comitis and Rob Moore in 1999. John Comitis, the honouree life chairman of Ajax Cape Town, later sold his shares in the club after 14 years at the helm and is now the chairmen of his new football team, Cape Town City Football Club. Ajax, nicknamed Urban Warriors, played their first official game against

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

in the

Iwisa Charity Spectacular A knobkerrie, also spelled knobkerry, knobkierie, and knopkierie (Afrikaans), is a form of wooden club, used mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa. Typically they have a large knob at one end and can be used for throwing at animals in hunting or ...

on 17 July 1999. Ajax caused an upset when they beat Chiefs 1–0 with Sam Pam, the Ajax Cape Town captain, scoring the winning goal. Former South Africa national team coach

Gordon Igesund Gordon Igesund (born 22 July 1956) is a former South African football player and coach who was most recently the manager of Highlands Park in the Premier Soccer League. Early life Igesund was born in Durban to George Norman Igesund (born 193 ...

, the country's most successful club coach, who won league titles with

Manning Rangers Manning Rangers is a now defunct South African Association Football, football club based in Durban. The side is best remembered as the Champions of the Inaugural season of South Africa's Premier Soccer League. History The club was founded in 192 ...

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...

, Santos and Sundowns, coached the club from 2002 until 2006. Since coming into existence, Ajax has never won the league title with their highest finish being runners-up in 2003–04, 2007–08 and 2010–11. Ajax managed to win the Rothmans Cup in 2000, the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of givi ...

in 2007, the

Telkom Knockout The Telkom Knockout was a South African professional football knockout competition which comprised the 16 teams in the South African Premier Soccer League. The competition was established in 1982 and was first known as the Datsun Challenge. Under ...

in 2008 and most recently the MTN8 in 2015. In January 2007 Ajax CT managed to beat AFC Ajax 3–1 in a friendly game held in Cape Town. The next friendly, played in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, ended in a 3–2 win for

in July 2009. Over the years several Ajax CT players have made the step to the mother club, among them

Steven Pienaar Steven Jerome Pienaar (; born 17 March 1982) is a South African former professional footballer and current assistant coach of the U18 team of the Ajax Youth Academy. He was a captain of the South African national team. He primarily played as ...

in 2002,

Daylon Claasen Daylon Kayton Claasen (born 28 January 1990) is a South African international soccer player who last played for Maritzburg United, as a winger. Club career Born in Klerksdorp, Claasen played youth football with Leicester City Klerksdorp and ...

in 2009,

Eyong Enoh Eyong Tarkang Enoh (born 23 March 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Olympiakos Nicosia in the Cypriot First Division and for the Cameroon national team. During the span of his career, En ...

in 2008 and

Thulani Serero Thulani Caleb Serero (born 11 April 1990) is a South African soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Al Jazira and the South African national team. Prior to joining Al Jazira, he played for Ajax Cape Town in the South African Premier Socc ...

in 2011. In July 2013, it was announced that the Comitis brothers, longtime partners and shareholders with the Efstathiou brothers, had sold their shares to the Efstathiou family. Ari Efstathiou was announced as the new chairman, and

Muhsin Ertuğral Muhsin Ertuğral (born 15 September 1959) is a UEFA Pro Licensed Turkish football manager. He works as Turkish National Team Technical Advisor for the Turkish Football Association (TFF). Playing career Ertuğral played for Antalyaspor before ...

was reinstated as manager of the club, following an interim managerial period after originally being hired as the club's new technical director. In September 2015, Ajax won the 2015 MTN8 tournament edging

1–0 in the final. Ajax were relegated to the

after finishing bottom in the 2017–18 season. Ajax finished in 4th place, outside of the playoff positions, in the

2018–19 National First Division The 2018–19 National First Division was the season from August 2018 to May 2019 of South Africa's second tier of professional soccer, the National First Division. Stellenbosch FC were crowned champions on the final day, following a 0–0 draw wi ...

, and again failed to achieve promotion the following season after losing in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Black Leopards Black Leopards FC is a South African football club based in Thohoyandou, Vhembe Region, Limpopo that plays in the National First Division. History The club was founded in 1983 by business people in the Vhembe Region. In 1998 the club was tak ...

. Shortly after, Ajax Amsterdam sold their 51% share in Ajax Cape Town. In 2020, they ended their association with Dutch club AFC Ajax, with Cape Town Stars acquiring full control of the club, and they subsequently renamed to Cape Town Spurs.

Youth programme

Since the inception of the club, Ajax Cape Town have imported the AFC Ajax philosophy and effective youth development schemes in the Western Cape. The majority of the senior squad players have come up from the club's own youth ranks, such as the likes of

Nazeer Allie Nazeer Allie (born 23 May 1985) is a South African soccer player who plays as a defender for Premier Soccer League club Cape Town Spurs and the South African national team South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The dire ...

, Granwald Scott and

Thulani Hlatshwayo Thulani Tyson Hlatshwayo (born 18 December 1989) is a South African professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Supersport United and South Africa national soccer team, Bafana Ba ...

, while others such as

and

have moved on to some of the top clubs in Europe. With the introduction of the Ajax Cape Town Community Scheme in conjunction with the South African Police Services, Ajax CT also provides football opportunities to young people within the greater Cape Town area regardless of race, gender, social status or disability, facilitated through structured programs in a safe and fun learning environment. Since then the Ajax Cape Town Community Scheme has been implemented in more than 120 schools across the Western Cape as far as the Cape Winelands, reaching more than 8,000 children.

Stadium

In the beginning Ajax CT played their home games at

Athlone Stadium The Athlone Stadium is a stadium in Athlone on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa. It is used mostly for soccer matches and it is the home ground of Cape Town Spurs. The stadium holds 34,000 people and it was built in 1972. The stadium ...

and

Newlands Stadium The Newlands Stadium, referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons, is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all-seater venue. Various sports teams use the stadium as their ho ...

. The latter is a 51,900 capacity venue, which was first built in 1888, and was also host to the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

opening match. Essentially being a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

stadium, it was a home they shared with clubs Santos and

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

, as well as rugby teams

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...

and

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

was home to the Santos and has a capacity of 30,000. The stadium located in

Athlone, Cape Town Athlone is a suburb of Cape Town located to the east of the city centre on the Cape Flats, south of the N2 highway. Two of the suburb's main landmarks are Athlone Stadium and the decommissioned coal-burning Athlone Power Station. Athlone is main ...

was also host to some of Ajax CT early home matches as well. Moving to the

Green Point Stadium The Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa was a multi-purpose sports stadium. Opened in 1897, it had a concrete banked cycle track, also occasionally used for motorsport, with a lap distance of a third of a mile - - and inside the ...

, an 18,000 seat multi-purpose stadium in the Green Point area of

. The stadium was eventually demolished in 2007 to make way for the new

Cape Town Stadium The Cape Town Stadium ( af, Kaapstad-stadion; xh, Inkundla yezemidlalo yaseKapa) is an association football (soccer) and rugby union stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, that was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. During the planning stage, it wa ...

for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. Construction of the new stadium was completed in 2009, and the Urban Warriors have played their home games at the

since the beginning of the

2010–11 Premier Soccer League The 2010–11 Premier Soccer League season (known as the ABSA Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifteenth since its establishment. Supersport United were the defending champions, having won their third premier league title the previou ...

season to an improved capacity of 55,000. On 3 August 2011 a contract extension of three years was negotiated with the stadium, which will see Ajax CT playing their home games there until 2014. The first match played at the new stadium was a Cape Town derby between Ajax CT and Santos on 23 January 2010 as part of the official inauguration of the stadium. Ajax Cape Town trains at their home base located in Parow. (). It serves as the training grounds for the senior squad, as well as for the Ajax Cape Town Youth Development Academy. It has hosted a number of foreign clubs among them German Bundesliga club

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

during their midseason camp in 2014 as well as

Viking FK Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, having won 8 ...

from Norway.

Shirt sponsor & kit manufacturer

* Shirt sponsor:

Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...

* Kit manufacturer:

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

Honours

National titles

* National Soccer League (1985 to 1996) ::Winners:

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Cup competitions

MTN 8 MTN 8 is the current branding for a South African soccer cup competition launched in 1972 for teams who finished in the top 8 positions of the league table of the country's preceding top-flight league (currently the DStv Premiership) season. T ...

(Top 8 Tournament) ::Winners:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

¹ *

(League Cup) ::Winners: 2000¹, 2008¹ *

(FA Cup) ::Winners: 1995, 2007¹

Preseason

Mangaung Cup The Old Mutual Mangaung Cup is an annual pre-season association football tournament. The cup is sponsored by Old Mutual Emerging Markets, a Licensed Financial Services Provider. References External linksOfficial site {{Football in South Afr ...

::Winners: 2007¹, 2008¹ 1. Trophies won as Ajax Cape Town F.C. from 11 January 1999 to 28 September 2020.

Performance in CAF competitions

Continental appearances

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

: 2 appearances ::

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

– Group stage (Top 8) ::

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

– First Round *

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

: 1 appearance ::

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

– First Round of 16

Continental results

: (1) CCP = CAF Co-efficiency points. Total number of points for CAF Coefficient: 17.0

Club records

* Most starts:

Brett Evans Brett Evans (born 8 March 1982 in Johannesburg, Gauteng) is a South African footballer who played for Premier Soccer League club Ajax Cape Town. Evans was a founding member of Ajax Cape Town and played for Ajax for the whole of his 13-year car ...

311 * Most goals:

Nathan Paulse Nathan Paulse (born 7 April 1982 in Cape Town, Western Cape) is a South African Football Coach and retired professional footballer who played as a striker for Ajax Cape Town and was capped at international level for South Africa. As a professi ...

56 * Most capped player: Edelbert Dinha * Most starts in a season: Edelbert Dinha 41 (2000–01) * Most goals in a season:

Mabhuti Khenyeza Mabhuti Khanyeza, (born 17 June 1982 in Howick) is a retired South African association football striker. Career Khanyeza's arrival from Lamontville Golden Arrows in July 2007 after he had spent five seasons at the KwaZulu-Natal based team ...

23 (2008–09) * Record Victory: 5–1 vs

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often known as simply Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto in the city of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two ...

(19 February 2006, PSL); vs

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...

(26 April 2008, CAF Confederation Cup) * Record defeat: 0–6 v

(22 September 2004, PSL); vs

Golden Arrows Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. are a South African soccer club based in Durban that plays in the Premier Soccer League. History It was founded in 1943 in the streets of Lamontville, a township in Durban. The club played in the defunct Nation ...

(24 October 2009, MTN 8)

Premier Soccer League record

Players

On loan

Foreigners

In the South African PSL, only five non-South African nationals can be registered. Foreign players who have acquired

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

can be registered as locals. * Kennedy Amutenya * Igor Balotelli * Jairo * Moisés Amor * Chico

Retired numbers

*21 – Cecil Lolo ( Defender, 2009–15). ''Number retired on 30 October 2015 at Lolo's memorial service.''

Club officials/Technical team

* Honorary Life Chairman: N/A * Chief Executive Officer: Alexi Efstathiou * Chairman & Director : Ari Efstathiou * General Manager of Football: Shooz Mekuto * Head coach:

Vladislav Heric Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav'' ...

* Assistant coach: Ian Taylor * Goalkeeper coach: Andre Bronkhorst * Multichoice Diski Challenge team coach: N/A * ABC Motsepe team coach: Nathan Paulse * Head of scouting: Luis Da Faria

Notable former players

Managers

Leo van Veen Leo van Veen (; born 6 June 1946) is a Dutch former association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward or Defender (association football), defender. During his career he played for FC Utrecht, Los Angeles A ...

(1999–00) * Henk Bodewes (2000) *

Steve Haupt ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

''(interim)'' (2000–01) *

Rob McDonald Robert Roderick McDonald (born 22 January 1959) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker or midfielder for Hull City A.F.C., Hull City, SC Cambuur, FC Wageningen, ...

(2001–02) *

(2002–06) *

(2006–07) *

Craig Rosslee Craig William Rosslee (born 1 January 1970 in Cape Town) is a former South African association football player and manager. Rosslee enjoyed success as a player with Cape Town Spurs, Hellenic and Santos. He made his league debut for Cape Town S ...

(2007–09) *

and

Jan Pruijn Jan Pruijn (born 12 October 1958) is a Dutch football coach. As a footballer, Jan Pruijn only played amateur football, playing in the Hoofdklasse the 2nd highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands. In 1985, he became the coach of De ...

''(interim)'' (2009) *

Foppe De Haan Foppe Geert de Haan (, born 26 June 1943) is a Dutch football coach. He is known for his long association with Frisian club SC Heerenveen. De Haan was the manager of the Tuvalu national football team during 2011 and then rejoined Heerenveen's ...

(2009–11) *

Maarten Stekelenburg Maarten Stekelenburg (; born 22 September 1982) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie club Ajax. Stekelenburg began his career at Ajax, playing 282 matches over nine seasons in his first spell there and win ...

(2011–12) *

Wilfred Mugeyi Wilfred Mugeyi (born 4 July 1969) is a Zimbabwean former footballer whose last job was coach at South African Premier Soccer League club AmaZulu FC. During his playing days he was known as "Silver Fox" for the way he stole un-noticed behind oppo ...

and

''(interim)'' (2012) *

Jan Versleijen Johannes Martinus Maria Versleijen (born 29 December 1955), better known as Jan Versleijen, is a Dutch professional association football coach who last managed South African PSL side Ajax Cape Town. Career Born in Venlo, Versleijen has managed a ...

and

''(int.)'' (2013) *

(2013–14) * Ian Taylor ''(interim)'' (2014) * Roger De Sá (2014–2016) *

Stanley Menzo Stanley Purl Menzo (born 15 October 1963) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and worked as a manager of Ajax Cape Town in the South African Premier Soccer League. He is currently the manager of Chinese Super Le ...

(2016–2017) *

(2017–2018) *

Andries Ulderink Andries Ulderink (born 30 July 1969) is a Dutch association football coach and a former player. He coached Dutch professional and amateur teams. Since 2020, he works as the assistant coach at Twente. Football career Ulderink was a footballer at V ...

(2018–20)Ajax Cape Town Appoints Dutch Coach
ajaxct.co.za, 29 November 2018 *

Vladislav Herić Vladislav Herić (Serbian Cyrillic: Владислав Херић born 29 August 1966) is a Serbian professional football manager. He has spent most of his coaching career with clubs in South Africa and has established himself as one of the co ...

(2020–present)

References

External links

*
Premier Soccer League

PSL Club Info

South African Football Association

Confederation of African Football
{{Cape Town, sports Premier Soccer League clubs Soccer clubs in Cape Town 1970 establishments in South Africa