SA’s Cupido joins Israeli football club mired in controversy

Local footballer Ashley Cupido, on loan from Stellenbosch FC to Israeli second division outfit Kiryat Yam, has landed up at a club being investigated for match-fixing and money-laundering. 

Last season, Kiryat Yam finished in sixth place in Liga Leumit, the Israeli second division. They would have finished higher but for the fact that they were deducted four points after being embroiled in the massive scandal. 

A dawn raid on the club by the police’s Lahav 433 economic crime unit in January netted 17 suspects, including players and administrators, whom police suspected of being involved in match-fixing and illegal betting, both offshore and in Israeli itself. The fraud apparently involves millions of shekels. 

“The arrests came following a months-long undercover operation, conducted in cooperation with the Israel Football Association [IFA], which was opened amid suspicions over how the club was being managed,” wrote The Times of Israel. “‘As the probe progressed, suspicions were raised that organised crime was involved in the financial and administrative activities of the club,’ police said.” 

Central to the process of illicit gambling was a system of dual or multiple contracts for players, which allowed the club to circumvent the official salary cap that operates in Israeli domestic football. It allegedly paid certain players more than what they were officially supposed to receive in return for those players under-performing on the pitch. 

The club meanwhile, looks set to start the new season at the end of next month with Cupido in the key position of centre-forward. Given the scope of the January arrests, it will do so under intense scrutiny from the IFA and local media. Since the arrests, the scope of the investigation has widened. 

Prior to the announcement of the move last week, Cupido, a 25-year-old striker, was standing still at Stellenbosch FC, so the move ‒ despite the club’s traumas – has come at a good time. “He wasn’t playing very much for me,” said Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt, “so you can understand why he’d want to move. Players want to play, that’s understandable.” 

When Hunt was asked whether he was aware Kiryat Yam had been embroiled in comprehensive match-fixing and money-laundering allegations, he was surprised. He had no idea that this was the case, he replied. 

While Cupido has welcomed the fresh opportunity to kick-start a stagnating career, he has also told South African media that he “wasn’t really too excited” about the move. “At the end of the day, though,” he added, “I’m a footballer and that is my main focus, being on the field and playing.” 

When asked if he could throw light on how Cupido’s move to Israel came about, Hunt told the SA Jewish Report that he was at a loss to provide any detail. “The deal was made between the owner [of Stellenbosch FC, Johann Rupert, through his Remgro company] and Cupido’s agent. It’s pretty much out of my hands.” 

Kiryat Yam, whose home ground is near Haifa, finished respectably in Liga Leumit last season, although they were some way off the promotion places. Those two places went to league winners, Maccabi Petah Tikva, and second-placed Hapoel Ramat Gan. 

Kiryat Yam representatives defended themselves when the case became public in January by saying everything was above board at the club as far as they were concerned. They accused others of trumping up the charges because the club was a legitimate promotion candidate. Other clubs, they said, were simply jealous. 

It is into this fraught environment that Cupido will be stepping. 

The former Cape Town Spurs striker moved to Stellenbosch (or “Stellies”) in 2024 but, after a honeymoon period, his progress slowed. Stellenbosch FC finished in fifth spot in the 2025/6 Premier League standings, sandwiched between AmaZulu and Sekhukhune United. In his 77 appearances for the club in all competitions, Cupido scored six goals. 

Football in Israel is traditionally seen as a possible springboard into Europe, so the stakes for Cupido are high. Should he regain his goal-scoring mojo, the big clubs in the Israeli Premier League will start to notice, and a possible move upwards will place him in the European shop window. Despite treading water in Stellenbosch, you fancy he’s still at an age, 25, where his best football is yet to come. 

The path of South Africans playing in Israel is surprisingly well-trodden. One of the early trailblazers was Mamelodi Sundowns left-back Tsepo Masilela, who spent five highly successful years at Maccabi Haifa between 2007 and 2012. 

The following year saw Bevan Fransman move from Moroka Swallows to Maccabi Netanya. Two years later, the elegant central defender was signed by Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he gained Europa League experience playing against PSV Eindhoven, Legia Warsaw, and Romania’s Rapid Bucharest. 

More recent South Africans playing their trade in Israel have included Siyanda Xulu (Hapoel Tel Aviv) and Dino Ndlovu (Bnei Yehuda and Maccabi Haifa). 

While moves to Israel have proved lucrative, South African footballers have often experienced a downside, with some, like Ndlovu and Xulu, being on the receiving end of racist chants from both their own and opposition supporters.