Numbers add up for Ajax in promotion push

GladAfrica Championship leaders Ajax Cape Town have stormed along at exactly two points per game this season, which has seen them open up a healthy seven-point lead at the top of the table in their bid for a return to the Absa Premiership.

If they keep going at the current rate once football resumes after the coronavirus pandemic is brought under control, it will leave them with 60 points come the end of the season.

That would have been enough for promotion in each of the last eight seasons since the National First Division became a single stream, suggesting they are well on their way to a top-flight return.

In fact, they are already just a single point off the promotion-winning total of Polokwane City (49) in the 2012/13 season, and only eight off the 56 managed by Stellenbosch FC in finishing top of the table in 2018/19.

Only once in the last eight seasons has 60 points been needed to finish top of the table, in 2015/16 when Baroka FC edged Highlands Park (59) by a single point.

The average number of points needed in that time has been 53, meaning Ajax may be just five points away from achieving their goal

POINTS FOR PROMOTED TEAMS

The num2011/12: University of Pretoria - 55 (52)
2012/13: Polokwane City - 49 (49)
2013/14: Chippa United - 58 (51)
2014/15: Lamontville Golden Arrows - 60 (54)
2015/16: Baroka - 60 (60)
2016/17: Thanda Royal Zulu - 62 (51)
2017/18: Highlands Park - 69 (51)
2018/19: Stellenbosch FC - 56 (54)
ber of points gained by promoted teams since the second-tier became a single stream. Number in brackets is how many they actually needed.