The Urban Warriors were relegated for the first time in their history after a poor showing across the 2017/18 season, where they failed to register a win on the road the entire campaign.
After initially finishing 15th, the Cape club were docked points for fielding ineligible striker Tendai Ndoro, leading to automatic relegation, a decision they are reviewing, with a final ruling set to be announced later this week.
A number of clubs in recent years have bought their way into the top-flight by purchasing another team’s status, the most recent example being AmaZulu’s purchase of Thanda Royal Zulu's franchise last year.
Top-flight club Bloemfontein Celtic recently announced they are up for sale, yet Ajax boss Efstathiou insists a possible takeover of another club’s status is not on the cards, despite their precarious position.
Efstathiou admits that should their relegation be confirmed, times will be tough for the club, and with current shirt sponsor Huawei’s contract now expired, he anticipates a rough ride.
“Huawei’s sponsorship ended in any case this year and was not going to be renewed,” he says. “All discussions with potential new sponsors are on hold until we know exactly what we’re doing, as we can’t commit to anything yet. But it’s obvious that if we are not successful in our court bid, or anything afterwards, it’s not going to be easy.
“It’s already difficult as it is in the PSL and will be even more difficult in the NFD.”
When queried about a possible exodus of players should the club find itself playing in South Africa’s second tier next season, Efstathiou was candid in his reply.
“We’ll deal with that after we hear our court result, when we get there,” he says.
The Ajax squad resumed for pre-season training on Monday, in the hope that favourable court case result will give them a second bite at the cherry in the play-offs.