Former Cape Town Spurs striker Nathan Paulse has expressed serious
doubts about the club’s ability to make a swift return to professional
football following their unprecedented relegation to the ABC Motsepe League.
Spurs, long considered a yo-yo club between the Premiership and the first
division, have plummeted to the amateur third tier for the first time. This
drop in status has triggered an exodus of top young talent, including
Asanele Velebayi, Luke Baartman, and Liam Bern, who left for top-flight
clubs without a transfer fee.
Paulse painted a stark picture of the challenges ahead, describing the ABC
Motsepe League as a ruthless environment. “ABC Motsepe League is a jungle;
the strongest and shrewdest survive there. You need to have a thick skin for
this league,” he told the Siya crew.
He linked the club’s current predicament to structural issues, noting,
“Growth is constant. Sometimes you get found out having an outdated
structure, where everything is filtered down to one person, and now you see
the fruits of it.”
Given the club’s recent history—a long struggle to return to the PSL
followed by a mere one-season stay—Paulse is pessimistic about an immediate
comeback. “From the look of things… it’s going to be tough for them. I don’t
think we will see them bounce back immediately. I don’t know if they will do
it in season two or season three.”
He highlighted a particular systemic hurdle for Cape Town clubs: the
promotion play-offs. “It is specifically tough for a Cape Town team via a
play-off system. I can’t recall the last time a Cape Town team won the
play-offs. That alone says it’s becoming harder… I mean, look at Santos,
they’ve been in the ABC Motsepe League I don’t know for how long.”
Despite the bleak outlook for Spurs, Paulse sees a potential silver lining
for Cape Town football as a whole. “For Cape Town football, it’s a good time
for a reset. I don’t see it as doom and gloom. I always think adversity
brings opportunity. For example, Stellenbosch has now entered into that
space. There is a space for fresh thinking.”
His comments suggest that while Spurs face a grueling battle for survival
and promotion, their decline could create an opportunity for a broader
strategic renewal within the region’s football landscape.
