THE WOMEN’S division of this weekend’s Victorian Regional Challenge Cup has been boosted with the last minute inclusion of a team from Bendigo, bringing to five the number of female teams participating in the inaugural Country Leagues’ Football Association (CLFA) event at Stead Park.

To be held at Geelong Soccer Club’s magnificently renovated complex all day on Saturday and Sunday, the senior Men’s and Women’s tournament will see the respective Men’s and Women’s Geelong Region Division 1 champions joined by teams from all over the state.

The Men’s Division will see local champions Barwon SC take on Latrobe Valley Soccer League heavyweights Falcons 2000 from Morwell, the Goulburn North East League’s Shepparton SC and the recently formed Warrnambool Association’s Warrnambool Wolves.

The Wolves are no strangers to Geelong, having participated in the old WVSA competition in the early 2000s.

In the Women’s draw, local league champions Drysdale SC will be joined by Leongatha Knights from the Gippsland League, the Latrobe Valley competition’s Traralgon City, Warrnambool Rangers and the newly added Bendigo team.

The exciting new end of season cup competition was originally supposed to be hosted in Bendigo, but after the host pulled out, the Geelong Region Football Committee (GRFC) came to the rescue and agreed to host the weekend tournament in Geelong.

The Geelong Soccer Club’s Stead Park complex, which successfully hosted the recent Geelong Region Finals’ Series was selected as the hosting venue due to its availability and the club’s willingness to provide logistical and organisational resources to assist tournament organisers.

The full fixture list is as follows:

TOURNAMENT FIXTURES: