TS Galaxy’s financial woes could hand Cape Town City a PSL lifeline

TS Galaxy currently find themselves in a tight corner financially, which could force the club to sell their status to the recently relegated Cape Town City.

In an interview with Robert Marawa last week, City chairman John Comitis said he was willing to purchase another club’s status in order to keep the Western Cape club in the top flight.

“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,” the chairman said in his chat with Marawa.

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.

Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.

As a result, City have become very profitable over the years thanks to some key partnerships; FNB being one of them. Umbro, SportPesa, Coca Cola, and Virgin Active have also come on board.

However, in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, with very few televised games, they might not be able to keep hold of those partnerships, something Comitis is well aware of.

Now, it seems TS Galaxy’s situation might present Comitis and City with an opportunity.

Galaxy are in a bind. The club, who finished fifth in the league last season, won’t be able to strengthen their squad ahead of the new campaign due to being under a transfer ban, imposed on them by world football governing body FIFA.

The club were issued a transfer ban due to an outstanding payment of about R1.8 million owed to their former Ivorian forward, Bernard Yao Kouassi, who had signed in January 2023 but left by August without playing.

FIFA ruled that TS Galaxy had breached his contract by failing to pay his dues, triggering a ban on registering new players for three consecutive transfer windows.

On top of that, there’s the case with Jegbay Morris Konneh – another Ivorian – who joined the club last July, but left after six months without getting paid. Last week, a FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled that the club must pay around R319,000 for six months of salary, plus 5% interest from August 1, 2024.

Additionally, they owe around R1.79 million in compensation for breach of contract, also with 5% interest from December 31, 2024. Failure to pay this within 45 days will result in another ban over three windows.

If TS Galaxy fail to resolve their financial woes soon, they risk collapsing under the weight of mounting debts and administrative sanctions. Owner Tim Sukazi could well be tempted to sell the club, opening the door for Comitis and Cape Town City's bid to stay in the top flight.

What was once one of the most exciting projects in South African football now stands on the brink of disintegration. For Comitis and Cape Town City, this moment could mark an unexpected lifeline back into the Betway Premiership.

But for TS Galaxy and their fans, it may very well be the painful end of a bold, ambitious dream.

IOL Sport

Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.