Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has shared his thoughts on the impact of the relegation of fellow Western Cape teams Cape Town City FC and Cape Town Spurs.
Cape Town City were recently relegated to the Motsepe Foundation Championship after nine seasons in the South African top-flight. CT Spurs, on the other hand, suffered relegation to the ABC Motsepe League at the end of the last campaign.
This has left Stellies as the only Western Cape team in the PSL. The province, situated on the south-western coast of SA, has, over the years, been known as one of the most competitive states in SA domestic football.
Clubs such as Hellenic, Santos [2001/02 league champions], Cape Town Spurs, Ajax Cape Town, and, more recently, Stellenbosch and Cape Town City have made an impact in the local football fraternity.
Barker admits that the recent developments will affect them, but they also need to take it as a lesson.
WHY STEVE BARKER BELIEVES THE RELEGATION OF CAPE TOWN CITY AND CT SPURS SHOULD SERVE AS A LESSON
“Sometimes you just have to learn lessons that you take from these situations and just make sure that you don’t become complacent yourself,” he said. “But at the same time, it does offer us a massive opportunity to try and get more support from the Western Cape region.
“So yes, we seem to be a Cape Winelands team, but we are representing the Cape, so hopefully we can get more support into our matches.
Barker also expressed disappointment over the relegation of both CT City and CT Spurs, noting that their demotion means there won’t be a Western Cape Derby during the 2025/26 season.
“I am not here to speak on behalf of what happened to the other clubs, but obviously, we would like to have Cape Town teams being professional and playing in the PSL. It does mean that there is one more travel for us. As you know, Cape teams travel the most in the league.
“So not having any derby is disappointing for us. So I can only wish and hope that a team like Cape Town City can bounce back immediately. Let’s also hope that Cape Town Spurs also get themselves back to the professional level.”
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