JOMO COSMOS owner Jomo Sono is sick and tired of it being a yo-yo team, going up and down between the National First Division (NFD) and Premier Soccer League (PSL).
So irritated is Sono that he has given Ezenkosi the mandate to gain promotion to the PSL at all costs in the coming season.
He says a club of this calibre does not deserve to be in the NFD jungle.
Sono says he’s losing money by running the club in the lower division where the monthly grant is much smaller than in the top flight.
Ezenkosi were relegated to the second tier of SA football for the fifth time at the end of the 2015-16 season.
Cosmos did not make much of an impression last season, showing no hunger to return to the top flight and finishing 10th with 38 points.
Ezenkosi will play their home games at Vosloorus Stadium in the upcoming season.
Last season they used Potchefstroom’s Olen Park but moved to Tsakane Stadium towards the end of the season as a result of unresolved issues with the Tlokwe Municipality regarding the stadium’s tenants, the Leopards Rugby Union.
Speaking at the launch of the Xenophobia Cup yesterday, which will be played in Vosloorus on 6 August, Sono said: “The biggest stumbling block to playing in the NFD is the Under-23 rule. We did not have many U-23 players last season and were not ready mentally to contest for the title. But I can confirm that we are ready and will fight for it this coming season.
“We have released 10 players to make space for the new players we brought in.”
Four teams will compete in the one-day tournament – Swaziland side Mbabane Swallows, Highlanders from Zimbabwe, United Nation, which will be made up of foreign players from different countries, and hosts Cosmos.
Cosmos have registered 11 new players so far, including former Moroka Swallows striker Clifford Mulenga. Sono confirmed that Cosmos’ veteran striker Brice Aka has retired and said he would be given a role at the club before the new season kicks off.
The Cosmos boss also confirmed that two of their players, Tebogo Tlolane and Bafana Tshawe, will be going to Spain for trials with Tenerife FC.
“We might lose these two boys, as they are going to Spain. What I’m happy about is that I did not recommend them, the club spotted them and asked me if they could assess them.”