Cape Town City will make their bow in the 2016/17 Premier Soccer League season as the new franchise out of the ashes of Mpumalanga Black Aces was launched today.
The club‚ owned by John Comitis‚ will make their professional debut with a high-profile MTN8 meeting against Kaizer Chiefs at their Cape Town Stadium base on a date yet to be determined by the PSL.
The club is an ambitious project that seeks to unify 100 grassroots teams that play in the SAFA leagues to feed into their academy that is potentially to be based in Nyanga.
Discussions over the project started with SAFA Western Cape president Norman Arendse last November‚ and culminated in the purchase of Black Aces’ franchise to form a professional team for the grassroots sides to feed into.
“It was clear‚ if you don’t tap into the heart of the guy at the grassroots‚ you cannot succeed at the top. This is a club for the people‚” Comitis said.
“It’s about linking the bottom (grassroots) to the top and showing a clear path of how to get there. Any players that are developed through our grassroots affiliates and are sold to‚ for example Portugal‚ those Euros will not just come to Cape Town City‚ but also filter down to grassroots as well. That is in writing.”
The club has retained 14 players from Black Aces‚ but Comitis says that their aim is to have the team represented by at least 80 percent local Capetonians in the future.
He adds he is delighted with the players who have come down to the Mother City from Black Aces‚ admitting that he had lent heavily on the advice of former coach Muhsin Ertugral‚ who has since jumped ship to Orlando Pirates‚ to pick the nucleus of the team.
“This is the pick of Muhsin for this coming season‚” Comitis said.
“It’s the core of last season’s successful team and we will build from this and move forward. In the end‚ we will have a squad of 24 or 25. We are having trials with players from Spain and Australia‚ as well as local players‚ to get the right squad mix.”
The players who have already made a commitment to Cape Town City include Aubrey Ngoma‚ Shu-Aib Walters‚ Bongi Jayiya‚ Vincent Kobola‚ Lebohang Manyama‚ Mpho Matsi‚ Thabo Nodada‚ Aubrey Modiba and Judas Moseamedi‚
The team will play in a blue jersey with a thick yellow hoop just below the chest.
PSL newcomers Cape Town City finally launched in the Mother City
Cape Town City will make their bow in the 2016/17 Premier Soccer League season as the new franchise out of the ashes of Mpumalanga Black Aces was launched today.
The club‚ owned by John Comitis‚ will make their professional debut with a high-profile MTN8 meeting against Kaizer Chiefs at their Cape Town Stadium base on a date yet to be determined by the PSL.
The club is an ambitious project that seeks to unify 100 grassroots teams that play in the SAFA leagues to feed into their academy that is potentially to be based in Nyanga.
Discussions over the project started with SAFA Western Cape president Norman Arendse last November‚ and culminated in the purchase of Black Aces’ franchise to form a professional team for the grassroots sides to feed into.
“It was clear‚ if you don’t tap into the heart of the guy at the grassroots‚ you cannot succeed at the top. This is a club for the people‚” Comitis said.
“It’s about linking the bottom (grassroots) to the top and showing a clear path of how to get there. Any players that are developed through our grassroots affiliates and are sold to‚ for example Portugal‚ those Euros will not just come to Cape Town City‚ but also filter down to grassroots as well. That is in writing.”
The club has retained 14 players from Black Aces‚ but Comitis says that their aim is to have the team represented by at least 80 percent local Capetonians in the future.
He adds he is delighted with the players who have come down to the Mother City from Black Aces‚ admitting that he had lent heavily on the advice of former coach Muhsin Ertugral‚ who has since jumped ship to Orlando Pirates‚ to pick the nucleus of the team.
“This is the pick of Muhsin for this coming season‚” Comitis said.
“It’s the core of last season’s successful team and we will build from this and move forward. In the end‚ we will have a squad of 24 or 25. We are having trials with players from Spain and Australia‚ as well as local players‚ to get the right squad mix.”
The players who have already made a commitment to Cape Town City include Aubrey Ngoma‚ Shu-Aib Walters‚ Bongi Jayiya‚ Vincent Kobola‚ Lebohang Manyama‚ Mpho Matsi‚ Thabo Nodada‚ Aubrey Modiba and Judas Moseamedi‚
The team will play in a blue jersey with a thick yellow hoop just below the chest.
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