 | ||
| Full name | Cape Town Spurs Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Urban Warriors, Spurs | |
| Founded | 11 January 1970; 56 years ago (1970-01-11) | |
| Stadium | Athlone Stadium | |
| Capacity | 34,000 | |
| Chairman | Ari Efstathiou | |
| Manager | Nasief Morris | |
| League | ABC Motsepe League Western Cape Stream A | |
| 2024–25 | 15th of 16 (relegated) | |
| Website | capetownspurs.co.za | |
 Current season | ||
CapeTownSpursF.C. (formerly known asAjax Cape Town) is a South African professionalfootball club based inParow in the city ofCape Town that plays in theNational First Division. DutchEredivisie clubAFC Ajax 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.[1] After the Ajax Amsterdam partnership ended the club resurrected the name Cape Town Spurs.
The club's motto of 'Our Youth Our Future' indicates the strong emphasis on youth development at Cape Town Spurs.
Cape Town Spurs were formed on 11 January 1970, competing in theFederation Professional League from 1971 until 1984, winning the league seven times, and theNational Soccer League from 1985 to 1995, winning the championship in thefinal season, before the establishment of theSouth African Premiership in 1996. The club also won league and the Cup in 1995, then known as theBob Save Super Bowl.
In 1999 Ajax Cape Town was formed via the amalgamation of two Cape Town-based teams,Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs, asAFC Ajax expanded their worldwide talent-feeder network to South Africa, with the club adopting the club crest of the Amsterdam-based club.[2] 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 chairman ofCape Town City.
Ajax, nicknamed Urban Warriors, played their first official game againstKaizer Chiefs in theIwisa Charity Spectacular on 17 July 1999. Ajax caused an upset when they beat Chiefs 1–0 withSam Pam, the Ajax Cape Town captain, scoring the winning goal.
Former South Africa national team coachGordon Igesund, the country's most successful club coach,[3] who won league titles withManning Rangers,Orlando Pirates,Santos andSundowns, coached the club from 2002 until 2006.
Ajax's highest league finish was runners-up in 2003–04, 2007–08 and 2010–11. Ajax won the Rothmans Cup in 2000, theNedbank Cup in 2007, theTelkom Knockout in 2008 and 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 inAmsterdam, ended in a 3–2 win for AFC Ajax in July 2009.
Over the years several Ajax CT players have made the step to the mother club, among themSteven Pienaar in 2002,Daylon Claasen in 2009,Eyong Enoh in 2008 andThulani Serero in 2011.
In July 2013, it was announced that the Comitis brothers, longtime partners and shareholders with the Efstathiou brothers, had sold their Cape Town Stars shares, (19.6% of Ajax Cape Town), to the Efstathiou family.[4] Ari Efstathiou was announced as the new chairman, andMuhsin Ertuğral was reinstated as manager of the club, following an interim managerial period after originally being hired as the club's new technical director.[5]
In September 2015, Ajax won the 2015 MTN8 tournament edging Kaizer Chiefs 1–0 in the final.
Ajax CT were relegated to theNational First Division after finishing bottom in the2017–18 season due to having points deducted.
Ajax CT were deducted points for fielding Thendai Ndoro, who, according to the governingPremier Soccer League, was an illegible player. Ajax CT had previously been given the green light by the league and had officially registered the player with them as they were in possession of his player card. The team, therefore would have not been relegated had the points not been deducted and had the league not overturned their original decision that Ndoro was eligible to play.
Ajax CT finished in 4th place, outside of the playoff positions, in the2018–19 National First Division, and again failed to achieve promotionthe following season after losing in theplayoffs toBlack Leopards. Shortly thereafter, Ajax Amsterdam sold their 51% share in Ajax Cape Town.[1]
In 2020, Ajax CT ended their association with Dutch club AFC Ajax, with Cape Town Stars acquiring full control of the club, and they subsequently renamed it Cape Town Spurs.[6][7][8]
Cape Town Spurs finished 2nd in the2022–23 National First Division, earning promotion through the playoffs. However, the club followed this up with back-to-back relegations. Following their relegation from the2024–25 National First Division into the amateurSAFA Second Division, the club attempted to purchase the NFD status ofPretoria Callies for R6 million.[9]
After relegation from the professional divisions of South African football, Spurs have been embroiled in consequential court cases with former playersAsanele Velebayi,Liam Bern and Luke Baartman who were deemed free agents as a result. These decisions have been heavily criticized by the club owners. The financial strain of consecutive relegations and the loss of valuable players for free have put the future of the club in jeopardy.
The Urban Warriors currently play in the third division of South African football, the ABC Motsepe League Western Cape Stream A, alongside former PSL-outfits Vasco da Gama and Santos. Home games have moved from Athlone Stadium to the club's training ground, Ikamva. The transition to the amateur ranks has not been easy and consistency on the field has been hard to find with the club sitting mid-table as of early February 2026.[10]
However, the future looks bright. Cape Town Spurs have announced strategic and brand partnerships with ETA College and Kappa South Africa that will hopefully yield success in the future. During the transformational year of 2025, the club’s direction was steered by an unwavering commitment to its core values of resilience, integrity, and community.[11]
On Wednesday 5th November 2025 Cape Town Spurs Football Club announced a significant long-term technical partnership with global sportswear giant, Kappa[12]. The agreement sees Kappa become the official technical partner for the club, providing high-quality performance apparel for the club’s senior teams and the newly launched Urban Warrior Schools.
Cape Town Spurs' main rivalry is withCape Town City FC. Cape Town Spurs and Cape Town City compete in the iKapa Derby. The owner of Cape Town City, John Comitis, was previously involved at Ajax Cape Town before selling his shares to the Efstathiou brothers in 2013 after a breakdown in the relationship between parties. Comitis went on to buy the PSL status ofMpumalanga Black Aces FC in 2016 and created Cape Town City.
Other local rivals includeStellenbosch FC, hailing from the nearby town of Stellenbosch, but these teams have faced each other on very few occasions.Santos and Ajax Cape Town played in fiery derby games in the 2000s and 2010s. Vasco da Gama train across the road from Ikamva and are also considered local rivals. The derbies between Santos and Vasco da Gama have been reignited since Spurs' relegation to theABC Motsepe League as all three sides play in Western Cape Stream A.
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The youth academy at Cape Town Spurs has proven to be one of the most successful programs of the African continent. Their academy players are warmly referred to as the 'Young Warriors'.
Cape Town Spurs traditionally fielded six youth teams. The reserve side (under-23s) last competed in thethird tier of South African football but were relegated at the end of the 2024/25 season. The reserves competed in the 2023-2024DStv Diski Challenge. Cape Town Spurs also field an under-18, under-16, under-14 and under-12 team, all of which have been highly successful in local youth competitions for many years. The Head of Youth Development and reserve team head coach is renowned coachDuncan Crowie. Crowie is a legendary figure in Cape Town's football scene having first been a successful player forSantos and more recently for his reputation of scouting and developing young players.
The likes ofNazeer Allie,Granwald Scott andThulani Hlatshwayo came up through the youth ranks, while others such asSteven Pienaar andThulani Serero have moved on to some of the top clubs in Europe.[13]
As of 2011, the then Ajax Cape Town Community Scheme had been implemented in more than 120 schools across the Western Cape as far as the Cape Winelands, reaching more than 8,000 children.[14]
The youth set-up continues to be immensely important and a source of great pride at Cape Town Spurs. Academy graduates continue to make up a large proportion of the first team squad and are also regulars for other sides in theBetway Premiership andMotsepe Foundation Championship.
In the aftermath of relegation from the professional ranks and the arbitration award handed down by Advocate Hilton Epstein SC on 8 October 2025, concerning the status of players Luke Junio Baartman and Asenele Velebayi, Cape Town Spurs have begun operating as an elite High Performance Development Centre (HPDC). Players can now join the Urban Warrior Schools, a structured and seamless, high-performance pipeline, ensuring that every stage of a player’s journey is maximised. From the foundational FIRST TOUCH stage, which instils core skills, to the LITTLE WARRIORS program, which gradually escalates complexity, the focus is deliberate and uncompromising. The pathway sharpens dramatically with the ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT SQUAD (available to boys only), a crucial pre-academy bridge that intensifies training to meet the rigorous demands of elite football. The pinnacle is the ACADEMY – H.P.D.C. (High-Performance Development Centre), where hours are significantly increased, and the focus shifts entirely to technical mastery, strategic depth, and the competitive resilience required to unlock full professional potential.[15]
For the first time in Cape Town Spurs history the academy is open to girls as of 2026.[16]
Currently, the most senior Cape Town Spurs Academy team (under-19s) play in thefourth tier. They compete in the SAFA Cape Town Hollywoodbets Regional League alongside the academy team of fierce rivals Cape Town City.[17]
Cape Town Spurs played most of their games at theAthlone Stadium but have since moved to Ikamva after falling into the amateur ranks of South African football.
From 1999, Ajax CT played their home games at Athlone Stadium andNewlands Stadium. The latter is a 51,900 capacity venue, which was first built in 1888, and was also host to the1995 Rugby World Cup opening match. Essentially being arugby stadium, it was a home they shared with clubs Santos andVasco da Gama, as well as rugby teamsStormers andWestern Province. Athlone Stadium was home to the Santos and has a capacity of 30,000. The stadium located inAthlone, Cape Town was also host to some of Ajax CT early home matches as well.
Spurs later moved to theGreen Point Stadium, an 18,000 seat multi-purpose stadium in the Green Point area ofCape Town. The stadium was eventually demolished in 2007 to make way for the newCape Town Stadium for the2010 FIFA World Cup.Construction of the new stadium was completed in 2009, and the Urban Warriors played their home games at the Cape Town Stadium from the beginning of the2010–11 season to an improved capacity of 55,000. On 3 August 2011 a contract extension of three years was negotiated with the stadium, which saw Ajax CT play their home games there until 2014.[18][19]
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.
The home of Cape Town Spurs Football Club, Ikamva, is based in Parow. Its name means 'The Future' inisiXhosa. Officially opened in 2000, Ikamva is a state of the art training facility 20km outside Cape Town in South Africa’s Western Cape province.
Ikamva boasts five football pitches (1 of which is artificial), a gym, Fan Shop, office area, studio, canteen, bar and changing rooms for the club’s Youth teams and senior squad. Ikamva has hosted a number of foreign clubs including German Bundesliga clubVfB Stuttgart during their midseason camp in 2014 as well asViking FK from Norway.[20]
The Ajax Lambda Institute (ALI) is also situated at the club’s Ikamva base. The sole objective of the ALI was to nurture and prepare young African talent for the top European leagues. The aim was to annually promote at least 2-3 players for the European market and 4-5 players to graduate from the ALI into the Urban Warriors First Team side.
1. Trophies won asAjax Cape Town F.C. from 11 January 1999 to 28 September 2020.
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Score | CCP(1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Champions League | Preliminary Round |  Swaziland | Mhlambanyatsi Rovers | 1–0, 1–1 | 2.0 |
| First Round |  Burkina Faso | ASFA Yennenga | 1–0, 0–1 | |||
| Second Round |  Guinea | Fello Star | 2–0, 0–2 | |||
| Final Group Round |  Nigeria | Enyimba | 1–1, 2–0 | |||
 Morocco | Raja Casablanca | 1–1, 0–3 | ||||
 Egypt | Al Ahly | 2–0, 0–0 | ||||
| 2008 | Confederation Cup | First Round |  Seychelles | Anse Réunion | 1–0, 4–1 | 1.0 |
| First Round of 16 |  Cameroon | Mount Cameroon | 5–1, 0–5 | |||
| 2009 | Champions League | First Round |  Zimbabwe | Monomotapa United | 3–2, 1–2 | 0.3 |
Brett Evans 311Nathan Paulse 56Edelbert DinhaEdelbert Dinha 41 (2000–01)Mabhuti Khenyeza 23 (2008–09)Mount Cameroon (26 April 2008, CAF Confederation Cup)Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Cecil Lolo (Defender, 2009–15).Number retired on 30 October 2015 at Lolo's memorial service.[22]
Leo van Veen (1999–00)[23]Henk Bodewes (2000)[24]Steve Haupt(interim) (2000–01)[25]
Rob McDonald (2001–02)[26]Gordon Igesund (2002–06)[27]
Muhsin Ertuğral (2006–07)[28]Craig Rosslee (2007–09)[29]Muhsin Ertuğral andJan Pruijn(interim) (2009)[30][31]Foppe De Haan (2009–11)[32]Maarten Stekelenburg (2011–12)[33]Wilfred Mugeyi andJan Pruijn(interim) (2012)[34][35]Jan Versleijen andMuhsin Ertuğral(int.) (2013)[36]Muhsin Ertuğral (2013–14)[37]Ian Taylor(interim) (2014)[38]Roger De Sá (2014–2016)[39]Stanley Menzo (2016–2017)Muhsin Ertuğral (2017–2018)Andries Ulderink (2018–20)[40]
Vladislav Herić (2020–2021)Shaun Bartlett (2021–2023)[41]
Ernst Middendorp (2023–2025)[42][43]Nasief Morris (2025 - present)[44]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
