They say every dream begins with a dreamer. John Comitis has never been afraid to dream.
More importantly, he has never been afraid to follow his dreams. And now, an idea, an ambition, that was in the back of his mind in 2013, and knocked and shaped into a dream three years later, has come to fruition in a sensational way with Cape Town City crowned as Telkom Knockout champions.
A passionate devotee to the sport of football, former striker Comitis has been involved with a few clubs. His start as a club boss was with Cape Town Spurs in the 1990s and he was one of the founder members of Ajax Cape Town in 1999. After a much-publicised and ugly boardroom fall-out with his brothers-in-law - the Efstathious - he sold his shares in Ajax in 2013.
Ever since, always the dreamer, he has been plotting and planning. He was waiting for the right moment to plunge right back in. In June this year, it was time. He was ready. Comitis bought the PSL franchise of Mpumalanga Black Aces, relocated the club to his beloved Mother City, and renamed it Cape Town City FC.
John Comitis celebrates with the Telkom Knockout trophy at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. Picture: SYDNEY MAHLANGU, BACKPAGEPIX
Everything was in place, but the dream could only be realised once the club had achieved success. City have had a fairytale run since their inception - and, on Saturday, in beating SuperSport United 2-1 in the cup final at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, it all came together. All the hard work and sacrifice had been worth it. This dream had not been deferred - against all odds, it had been been fully realised.
“I’m happy for the people of Cape Town because they have embraced Cape Town City and made the team feel wanted and loved,” said Comitis, who had so much to do when he first launched his new club.
They had no structures, they had a skeleton squad of 14 of last season’s Black Aces players and there were quite a few noisy sceptics around.
But Comitis, and City, got cracking. Six months later, City are top of the PSL standings and are the Telkom Knockout champions - and that, surely, is a testament to the behind-the-scenes slog and grind.
“This team goes out and plays entertaining football, and they’ve been doing it for a while now,” said Comitis. “They have this energy and, for me, it is unbelievable what they have done so far this season.
Cape Town City’s success this season is a testament to the slog and grind that has gone on behind the scenes.
“I’ll be honest, I never thought we would win something so soon. But I do know that we are building from the bottom up, together with the support we are getting from Cape Town. The odds have been against us, but we’ve done it. I’m so proud of each and every one involved with the club.”
Comitis also had a special word of praise for City coach Eric Tinkler: “He’s an absolute master,” he said.