THE dream of reviving fallen giants Moroka Swallows seemed well on its way to becoming a reality . . .
That was until Cape Town All Stars announced the sale of their National First Division (NFD) status to Mpumalanga side, TS Galaxy, last month.
Initially, the idea was to catapult Swallows FC from the ABC Motsepe League to the higher NFD once Cape Town All Stars qualify and win the recently concluded promotion play-offs.
That the plan fell apart when the Cape team failed to qualify for the play-offs.
But Panyaza Lesufi says all hope is not lost.
“We will strengthen the team for next season and work our way up to the NFD. The determination is there,” said Lesufi, one of the founding owners of Swallows FC.
Lesufi went on to clarify the intricacies of the plan to resurrect Swallows, explaining how All Stars’ promotion play-offs setback threw a spanner in the works.
“As Swallows, we were part of the team that was managing Cape Town All Stars, having invested in the club to help them reach the play-offs,” Lesufi explained.
“The initial idea was that we would agree on the sale of the status once Stars have gained promotion to the Premiership. But the failure to qualify for the play-offs meant the deal was off.
“We could have gone ahead and purchased the NFD status. But we would not have managed the costs of running the club in the NFD with spiraling travel and accommodation expenses.”
Lesufi admitted, however, that the shareholders were concerned following the failed bid.
But he assured investors that their money wasn’t going to waste, as Swallows FC had great prospects of reaching the NFD next season.
Said Lesufi: “The fact that we reached the Nedbank Cup Last 32 round and actually lost to the team that went on to reach the final, Maritzburg United, is a good sign that we are on track.
“All the debts have been settled and the club is stable financially, having secured sponsorship.”
The Birds finished sixth in the fourth-tier league last season and will again be among the favourites to gain promotion to the NFD next season.
