Old timers of all races speak nostalgically of Friday night football at a packed Hartleyvale or Green Point Stadium cheering on their favourites even if those classified ‘non-white’ were hoarded into special enclosures.
Acres of newsprint were taken up on the eve of a derby and the game dissected across the city afterwards.
Rarely were they tame affairs.
But the demise of Cape Town City in 1978 ended the fierce rivalry and even though the city has had several top-flight clubs since‚ they have not been able to recreate a similar intensity.
Ajax Cape Town and Santos even played in a Cup Final at the Athlone Stadium in 2002 but failed to fill the venue in the way the old derby clashes used to pack them in.
The likes of Chippa United‚ Mother City and Seven Stars have also made it to the top-flight from Cape Town but all too briefly before fading away or‚ in the case of Chippa‚ moving elsewhere.
Now‚ the revival of the Cape Town City brand offers the opportunity to bring back the rivalry and Friday night’s derby with Ajax at the iconic Cape Town Stadium will provide a strong indicator of whether the old fervour can be rekindled.
The two clubs are hoping for a bumper turn out for what could be a spicy encounter‚ not least because of the poisonous animosity between the rival club chairmen‚ who are brothers-in-law.
John Comitis left his role as chairman of Ajax after a boardroom bust up with Ari Efstathiou‚ who eventually bought him out.
After two years in the wilderness‚ Comitis had plotted his return‚ buying the franchise of Mpumalanga Black Aces and reviving the family feud again.
But whether City can now revive their old fan base and match Ajax for support to set up a proper rivalry will become a lot clearer on Friday night.
- TMG Digital
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