Rusike to remain at Ajax

Premiership outfit.
There had been indications that Rusike would be sacrificed as Ajax Cape Town seek to reduce the number of their foreign players and meet the Premiership quota of five.
The six foreigners at Ajax Cape Town are Sander Westerveld, Khama Billiat, Tafadzwa Rusike, Koen van de Laak, George Akpabio and the new signing Okwuosa from Nigeria.
Although Ajax Cape Town chief executive George Comitis chose not to mention the name of the foreign player to be sacrificed it had been thought that the most likely candidate is former CAPS United winger Tafadzwa Rusike.
But the player’s manager Edzai Kasinauyo insisted yesterday that the Zimbabwe international is set to extend his stay at the Urban Warriors when his current contract runs out at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Kasinauyo said he had already held preliminary talks with the Ajax Cape Town management over the player’s future at the Urban Warriors.
“I want to confirm that Tafadzwa is staying with the club according to what we have discussed with Ajax Cape Town so far.
“Tafadzwa’s contract will run until the end of the coming season but the club is interested in negotiating a new deal because they feel that he is improving with each game.
“When he first arrived at Ajax he played a few matches but the number of games increased last season largely because his game also improved and he is working hard and keen to learn all the time,’’ Kasinauyo said.
Tafadzwa is one of two Zimbabwean players on the Urban Warriors books at the moment with the other being Billiat.
While former Aces Youth Academy forward, Billiat’s star has shone brightly at Ajax Cape Town, Tafadzwa has not  found the spark that earned him the nickname “Fire’’ and he has not shone to the levels that made him a household name at CAPS United.
But Kasinauyo believes that barring injuries, Tafadzwa can reignite the flames and turn on the magic for the Urban Warriors this term.
The Urban Warriors are expected to play Kaitano Tembo’s SuperSport United in Cape Town today.
In fact there could have been three Zimbabwean internationals at Ajax Cape Town at the start of the 2012-13 ABSA Premiership season but the Urban Warriors failed to agree terms with Tafadzwa’s namesake Matthew Rusike.
Mathew is now headed for Kaizer Chiefs and although the Soweto giants have basically agreed terms with the striker who is set to ink a three-year deal the move has been stalled following a dispute between the player and his former club Jomo Cosmos who were relegated last season.
Chiefs hinted yesterday in a statement that there is trouble brewing by stating that, “The player is currently with Kaizer Chiefs while negotiations with Jomo Cosmos are on-going. Chiefs will confirm the signature once the dispute between the player and Jomo Cosmos is settled.”
But it emerged late yesterday that a determination on the dispute will now be handed down by the Premier Soccer League possibly early next week.
Kasinauyo declined to discuss much on the dispute until the matter has been finalised by the PSL.
Matthew insists that as far as he is concerned he is a free agent.
“I think it is better if I don’t comment now, because we are trying to sort it out quickly, I believe I’m a free agent,” he said but refused to comment any further. Cosmos’ communications manager Lucky Mhlathe told Kick-off that that the player was expected to return for pre-season, but then he surfaced at Ajax Cape Town.
It was after he had failed to agree terms with Ajax that he returned to Johannesburg where he hooked up with Chiefs who have always had an interest in him. Mhlathe said Jomo Cosmos owner and coach Jomo Sono was personally handling the matter.
It also emerged that lawyers representing both parties had been tasked to work on the legalities of the dispute.
Kasinauyo has been holed up in South Africa in the last two weeks to sort out the deals for Matthew and Tafadzwa Rusike.