Former Jomo Cosmos striker Esau Kanyenda has said the club’s supremo Jomo Sono seemed to lack the usual drive and energy this season. Kanyenda revealed he was reduced to near tears after learning about Cosmos’s relegation from the GladAfrica Championship to the third-tier ABC Motsepe League in South Africa at the weekend.
The former Malawi international, who is now based in the United Kingdom, said Cosmos is not just a football club but part of South African football heritage; hence, it was unthinkable that the team had been relegated.
“It is a sad situation for Jomo Cosmos. You cannot talk about South African football history without mentioning Jomo Cosmos. I am heartbroken by the news. It reduced me to near tears because Jomo Cosmos has produced world-class players,” Kanyenda told FARPost.
Kanyenda, who played for Cosmos between 2001 and 2003, said Cosmos might have lost the relegation plot due to the continued sale of the club’s top players.
“The whole year, I talked to him, but he seemed to lack the usual drive and energy. It was not the Jomo I knew. He seemed frustrated [with results]. I wish they bounced back to the GladAfrica Championship as soon as possible, then the PSL because that is where they belong,” he said.
“I think selling top players has cost the team. Otherwise, Cosmos has produced top players such as Tico-Tico [Manuel Bucuane], Thabang Molefe, Benjani Mwaruwari and Nkosinathi Nhleko,” he told FARPost.
Kanyenda signed for Cosmos in 2001, using the club as a launchpad for his career that continued to flourish at FC Rostov in Russia, where he also featured for FC Lokomotiv. He returned to South Africa around 2013 to sign for Polokwane City.
By Peter Kanjere
