Oh the pain of being a football fan in South Africa. One moment you are excitedly celebrating your club’s brilliant season, the next you have no club to support because the owners have decided to sell.
No wonder Mpumalanga Black Aces supporters are up in arms, incensed as they are by what they believe to be a selfish decision by the Morfou brothers. ”You guys never had soccer interest at heart but business klaar,” said one.
Another questioned: “You mean two chairmans couldn’t split responsibilities with one focusing on the club and the other focusing on the business? Hayi suka man.”
Some saw the move as good riddance.
“I am happy you sold the club because Aces was never an Mpumalanga team; you were just using Mpumalanga resources.” To which someone added: “I wish it to be relegated.”
The reactions were precipitated by the announcement that Aces have been sold to Capetonian John Comitis because the Morfou brothers - Amazayoni owners for the past 13 years - wanted to focus on taking care of their mother and the family business as per their deceased father’s instructions.
While they said part of the sale deal is for the club to remain in Mpumalanga, Comitis appeared to rubbish that point, his statement saying “it’s a necessity for the abundance of talented young Cape players to have something to aim at.”
It is this apparent dishonesty that got the Aces followers up in arms, their comments ranging from “It’s a lie, it’s all about money,” through to: “Rest In Peace Mpumalanga Black Aces” to “Gumede from Gijima should have bought this team instead of buying shares in a rugby team”.
Such is the unique nature of our football industry that a club can change ownership as easily and simply as that.
Of course the National Soccer League (NSL), through their regulations, have sought to limit this trend by putting in place rules, that govern such transactions, like the one that prohibits new owners from immediately relocating a club. Still these rules do not consider the die-hard club fans who spend their hard earned cash to back their teams to the hilt. It is for this reason that one fan suggested that perhaps clubs should be forced by law to sell shares to card-carrying supporters so that they can at least have some say on decisions such as these.
Noble as that may sound though, the example of Moroka Swallows will inform club owners otherwise with part of the reason the once Mighty Birds of Dube are fast disappearing into oblivion being the fact that minority shareholders (most of them fans of the club) have made it hard for the club’s sale to materialise.
Aces have been sold though, and while the people of Mpumalanga are left crying and hoping that at least Mbombela United win the promotional play-offs, Cape Town must be excitedly looking to have their second elite league club - albeit in two seasons’ time.
The Star