NEWS: Geelong Pre-Season Cup to expand to eight teams in 2016
THE longest running soccer cup in Victoria returns to the venue where it kicked off with Bell Park hosting the 36th edition of the Geelong Pre-Season Cup, which was up until last year known as the Diversity Cup.
The tournament, started in 1981 and then known as the Geelong Advertiser Cup, was initially staged to prepare teams for the regular season but had a bonus, it matched all the top local sides against each other and the crowds came in their thousands.
The annual series returns to Batesford this summer and has returned to its original format of eight local teams, with Lara United, Surf Coast FC and the local Geelong Region Football Committee (GRFC) competition representative (Surfside Waves) adding a new dimension to the Cup.
The inclusion of the region’s biggest coastal clubs will invigorate the competition and allow the guest sides to test their skills against the more established clubs.
With the tournament once again headed to the Bell Park Sports Club in 2016, organizing committee officials are confident the total number of spectators of the the long running annual football series will be back for the series.
David Secen, chairman of the organising committee, said the Cup marked a return to competition and always pulled good crowds with local pride at stake. It has had several high-profile sponsors over the years and the organizing committee is working had to bring in a top name backer.
“At this point in time, a naming rights sponsor has yet to be finalised," revealed the former Bell Park president and added, “However, we are confident of securing a sponsor in the near future and making preparations for a successful event that will showcase the best of football that the Geelong region has to offer.
"We’re excited to see the cup grow and reverting to its traditional format of two groups featuring four teams in each group, each side playing the other once for a place in the semi-finals.
"Corio, Geelong, North Geelong and Bell Park and Geelong Rangers have all won the cup in the past, it would be great to see the newcomers push the usual suspects to the limit”, Secen said.
PHOTO: Members of the triumphant Geelong SC team which won the 2015 Geelong Pre-Season Cup, known as the Diversity Cup, after defeating the hosts Corio SC 4-3 on penalties (1-1 after extra time) in the Final at Hume Reserve.
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