Santos Football Club or simply Santos, also officially known under their sponsored title as Engen Santos, is a South African professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in the
Lansdowne, a suburb of the city of
Cape Town. It plays in the
SAFA Second Division
The ABC Motsepe League, previously known as the Vodacom League between 1998 and 2012, was founded in 1998 as the current Second Division and the overall third tier of South African football. The competition is regulated by SAFA, and until 2012 ...
.
History
The club was established in
Heideveld
Heideveld is a town or suburb in the Athlone part of Cape Town, South Africa. Heideveld got its name due to the fact that the area used to have large grazing grounds (or field which translates to "Veld" in Afrikaans) where a popular flower "Hei ...
on the
Cape Flats
The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which li ...
in 1982 and was originally known as Lightbodys Santos FC, after its sponsor. During
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, it was renowned for the insistence on non-racial inclusivity, hence its nickname "The People's Team".
They played in the
Federation Professional League (FPL), the only truly non-racial football body in the country from 1982 to 1990. They won the championship in 1983/4/6/7/8/90 before joining 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 ...
.
The NSL became the
PSL
PSL may refer to:
Sport
*Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan
*Philippine Super Liga, professional volleyball league in the Philippines
*Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league in the Philippines
* Philipp ...
in 1996, with Santos earning promotion to the new league for the
1997–98 season. Santos tasted their first success in the new format of the league in
2001–02 when they surprisingly won the title under the mentorship of
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 ...
. This side featured players like
Edries Burton
Edries Burton (born 13 December 1968) is a retired South African football (soccer) defender who played professionally for Santos Cape Town, Cape Town Spurs and AmaZulu.
Early life
He matriculated at Belgravia High School in 1987, Lyle Lakay ...
,
Andre Arendse
Andre Leander Arendse (born 27 June 1967) is a South African former soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.
He now works as an assistant and goalkeeper coach for Supersport United and has also been a co-presenter with SuperSport.
Playing ...
,
Musa Otieno
Musa Otieno (born 29 December 1973 in Nairobi) is a Kenyan former footballer.
Career
Club
Otieno has enjoyed an illustrious career on his native continent, playing for AFC Leopards and Tusker FC in Kenya, and from 1997 until 2011 for Santos ...
and the club's all-time top goalscorer
Jean-Marc Ithier
Jean-Marc Ithier (born 15 July 1965 in Rodrigues) is a retired Mauritian footballer. Besides Mauritius, he has played in South Africa.
Career
Ithier joined South Africa Premier Soccer League club Engen Santos from the Mauritian club Sunrise Fl ...
. With the title win Santos became the first – and to date the only – team that was not a founder-member of the PSL to win the league.
They were also crowned
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 ...
winners in 2001 and
BP Top 8 winners in 2002.
Santos were relegated from the PSL at the end of the
2011–12 season for the first time in the club's history. After finishing 15th in the league they entered the
2011–12 PSL Playoff Tournament where they were pitted against
Chippa United
Chippa United Football Club (often known as Chilli boys or Chippa) is a South African professional football club based in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province, having previously being based in Nyanga suburb of the city of Cape Town. The club's ...
and
Thanda Royal Zulu
Thanda Royal Zulu was a South African football club based in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal.
History
The club started after a Swedish consortium that included Sven-Goran Eriksson bought the franchise from Benoni Premier United at the end of the 200 ...
. Heading into their final playoff game Santos needed a win over Chippa United to maintain their PSL status but they were defeated 4–3 and subsequently relegated, with Chippa United taking their place in the PSL.
Santos were relegated from 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 football after the South African Premier Division. Both the NFD and South Afric ...
at the end of the
2016–17 season. The club now plays in the
Western Cape ABC Motsepe League.
Notable former coaches
*
David Bright (2008–09)
*
Roald Poulsen
Roald Poulsen (born 28 November 1950) is a Danish association football manager, who most prominently won the 1989 Danish championship with Odense BK and managed the Zambia national football team.
Poulsen started his coaching career with ama ...
(2004)
*
Jean-Marc Ithier
Jean-Marc Ithier (born 15 July 1965 in Rodrigues) is a retired Mauritian footballer. Besides Mauritius, he has played in South Africa.
Career
Ithier joined South Africa Premier Soccer League club Engen Santos from the Mauritian club Sunrise Fl ...
(2007–08)
*
Mart Nooij
Martinus Ignatius "Mart" Nooij (born July 3, 1954) is a Dutch football manager.
Career
Nooij became a development trainer at the Royal Dutch Football Association. He worked for EVC 1913 in the United States and Kazakhstan. He was manager of the ...
(2012)
*
Clive Barker
Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...
(2000–01, 2005)
*
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 ...
(2001–02)
*
Roger De Sa
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...
(2005–07)
*
Boebie Solomons
Abubakaar "Boebie" Solomons (born 22 March 1955 in Cape Town) is a South African football coach who last coached Premier Soccer League club Polokwane City. He is one of the few footballing coaches in the country to have won winners medals for bo ...
(2003–04, 2009–11)
*
Muhsin Ertugral
Muhsin (also spelled Mohsen, Mohsin, Mehsin, or Muhsen, ar, محسن) is a masculine Arabic language, Arabic given name. The first person known to have the name "Muhsin" was Muhsin bin Ali, the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad ...
(2003)
Honours
*PSL Champions: 2001–02
*ABSA Cup Winners: 2003
*FPL League Champions: 1983, 84, 86, 87, 88, 90
*FPL Cup Winners: 1985, 88, 90
*Challenge Cup Winners–: 1988
*Bob Save Super Bowl Winners: 2001
*BP Top 8 Winners: 2002
International
*
IFA Shield
The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield t ...
: (2008)
International
*
IFA Shield
The IFA Shield is an annual football competition organized by the Indian Football Association. The IFA is the governing body of football in the state of West Bengal, came into existence in 1893. Named after the association, the IFA Shield t ...
( IFA):
[ Fourth oldest club tournament, organized by the ]Indian Association
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South As ...
and played between Indian clubs and other invited ones. 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 ...
: Runners-up
Club records
*Most starts:
Edries Burton
Edries Burton (born 13 December 1968) is a retired South African football (soccer) defender who played professionally for Santos Cape Town, Cape Town Spurs and AmaZulu.
Early life
He matriculated at Belgravia High School in 1987, Lyle Lakay ...
409
*Most goals:
Jean-Marc Ithier
Jean-Marc Ithier (born 15 July 1965 in Rodrigues) is a retired Mauritian footballer. Besides Mauritius, he has played in South Africa.
Career
Ithier joined South Africa Premier Soccer League club Engen Santos from the Mauritian club Sunrise Fl ...
70
*Most capped player:
Musa Otieno
Musa Otieno (born 29 December 1973 in Nairobi) is a Kenyan former footballer.
Career
Club
Otieno has enjoyed an illustrious career on his native continent, playing for AFC Leopards and Tusker FC in Kenya, and from 1997 until 2011 for Santos ...
*Most starts in a season:
Cassiem Mohamed Cassiem is a South African surname that may refer to:
* Aishah Cassiem (b. 1992 or 1993), a South African politician
*Dayaan Cassiem (b. 1998), a South African field hockey player
* Junaid Cassiem (b. 1993), a South African former cricketer
*Mustaph ...
44 (1993)
*Most goals in a season:
Duncan Crowie
Duncan Crowie (born 29 May 1963) is a retired South African football (soccer) striker who mostly played for Santos Cape Town
Santos Football Club or simply Santos, also officially known under their sponsored title as Engen Santos, is a ...
19 (1991)
*Record victory: 6–0 v Intercity Aces (6/3/99, Bob Save Super Bowl); vs Beau West City (26 February 2005, Absa Cup); vs Cemforce FC (12/3/05, Absa Cup); vs Island FC (11/3/06, Absa Cup)
*Record defeat: 1–7 v
Mamelodi Sundowns
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football ...
(19 August 1998, PSL)
Premier Soccer League record
*
2011/
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
– 15th (relegated)
*
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
/
2011 – 8th
*
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 ...
/
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
– 4th
*
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 ...
/
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 ...
– 10th
*
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
/
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 ...
– 3rd
*
2006/
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
– 10th
*
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 (dwarf planet), Er ...
/
2006 – 8th
*
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
/
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 (dwarf planet), Er ...
– 12th
*
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
/
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
– 6th
*
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
/
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
– 9th
*
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
/
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
– 1st
*
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
/
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
– 5th
*
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
/
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
– 11th
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
/
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
– 16th
*
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
/
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
– 16th
Club officials/Technical team
*Chairman: Goolam Allie
*Coach:
Tony De Nobrega
Antonio "Tony" De Nobrega (born 2 February 1969 in Cape Town) is a South African football (soccer) coach who currently manages National First Division club Vasco da Gama.
He managed Premier Soccer League club Bloemfontein Celtic
Bloemfontein ...
*Assistant Coach:
Kamaal Sait
Kamaal Sait (born in South Africa) is a South African retired footballer.
Career
During his playing days, Sait was regarded as one South Africa's best utility players.
*Marketing & Media Officer:
Illhaam Dramat
*Goalkeeper coach: Nigel Dixon
Shirt sponsor & kit manufacturer
* Shirt sponsor: Goolam Sports
* Kit manufacturer: Winner
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Premier Soccer League
Association football clubs established in 1982
Premier Soccer League clubs
Soccer clubs in Cape Town
National First Division clubs
1982 establishments in South Africa