John Comitis has denied his new Premier Soccer League club Cape Town City have a link with English giants Manchester City but admits he is looking for an overseas team to partner with to grow the brand.Comitis looked awkward when asked about the City link at the club’s launch on Wednesday‚ before saying‚ “How do I answer this question?”‚ with a smile.The English club had an academy link to the franchise Comitis bought to form his new team‚ Mpumalanga Black Aces‚ and there was speculation the new Mother City side would add to the Sky Blues' global list of teams that includes New York City in the USA and Melbourne City in Australia.“No‚ there is no link to Manchester City but I can confirm we have sent proposals to a number of overseas clubs [to form a partnership]‚” Comitis said.“But wouldn’t it be brilliant if we could have a tournament that featured Cape Town City‚ Manchester City‚ New York City and Melbourne City?“We are ambitious. I have sent information to tons of clubs and I have the right backing here in the form of the City [of Cape Town] and Safa Western Cape. We are a target for some them. “But teams do not look at this strictly as a football venture‚ it has to make financial sense to them. If we could fill the Cape Town Stadium‚ with everything else that this city offers in terms of tourism and facilities‚ we would have a queue of clubs wanting to partner with us‚ I can assure you.”Putting bums on seats will be the major challenge for Cape Town City‚ but Comitis is hoping their partnership with what could ultimately be 100 Safa Western Cape clubs will help draw fans.“Each of the 100 clubs has 200 registered players in the different age groups. And that is before you talk about the parents‚ uncles and aunts‚ friends and so on. Then we can still market ourselves to the rest of Cape Town. You do the maths‚” he said. Comitis says they have set a target of ultimately having some 25‚000 fans in the stadium on match day‚ but admits it will be a while before momentum catches on. Key to that will be having a team that features a majority of Cape Town-born and bred players‚ with which people can identify.“We recognise the role of former players in this city who have been largely forgotten since their playing days. They did not play for the big money players get today. For some it was just about playing for the jersey or petrol money.“So we have decided anyone who has played for Cape Town Spurs‚ the old Cape Town City‚ Glenville or Hellenic as a professional will automatically have a free season ticket for this season.“With Safa Western Cape we will also compile a list of 50 legends from those teams who will get a season ticket for life. This is our way of giving back.”The likes of the old Cape Town City and Hellenic could draw crowds of over 20‚000 in their heyday at the old Green Point Stadium when Friday nights in the city were reserved for football‚ with rugby taking centre stage on Saturdays.Comitis wants to return to those days and says they will engage with the PSL to have City’s home games played on a Friday night.“We want to bring back Friday Football Fever and will petition the PSL for that. But we also have five National First Division sides in this city. There is the potential for us to play double-headers at the Cape Town Stadium if it is logistically possible.”Comitis was keen to trumpet that Cape Town City would be “a team of the people”‚ and that by partnering with grassroots football in the Western Cape they are giving the ‘small man’ the chance to aspire to play at a professional team.This strategy is twofold – to try and uncover the hidden gems of Cape Town‚ but also counter city rivals Ajax Cape Town‚ run by his brother-in-law Ari Efstathiou‚ who have a reputation for being somewhat aloof when it comes to the general public.Comitis‚ once the leading figure at Ajax‚ and Efstathiou have been embroiled in a number of court battles in a family feud that will only add to the passion of the rivalry between the clubs.There was a time Ajax could draw 5‚000 to 10‚000 fans for a home match that did not feature one of the ‘Gauteng Big Three’‚ but those days are over and Comitis hopes to bring back those fans who have left the stands.“When I first opened the conversation with [Safa Western Cape president] Advocate Norman Arendse about what we could do for Cape Town football‚ it became clear that we needed to build a club from the bottom up. We were not even talking about a PSL franchise then‚” Comitis said.“But it became clear that if you want to tap into the heart of the guy at the grassroots‚ you need to give him something to aspire to. And that’s where Cape Town City was born. It was about linking the bottom to the top and showing a clear path.“I sat with [Cape Town City] technical director Craig Rosslee for many nights over a cup of tea discussing how we would go about this and we came up with some plans.“For example‚ every single coach at Cape Town City is certified with a high level qualification. The expectation from them‚ including head coach Eric Tinkler‚ is that they will impart this knowledge to other coaches at grassroots.“So we will have a Coach the Coaches programme in full swing with the aim of certifying the grassroots guys at a Safa national level.“We want to equip the 100 Safa clubs we partner with all the skills so that one club at the top‚ Cape Town City‚ succeeds for the benefit of all of us.“Any players who 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.”Cape Town City will be coached by Tinkler in the new season‚ with former Ajax coach Ian Taylor as his assistant. Ex-Bafana Bafana keeper Calvin Marlin will act as goalkeeper-coach.So far the club has contracted 14 players from Black Aces’ squad‚ but will be hosting trials for‚ among others‚ players from Spain and Australia in the coming weeks.City kick off their debut campaign in the PSL with a home MTN8 quarterfinal against Kaizer Chiefs on a date still to be determined by the PSL.TMG Digital/TMG Sport..