SEVEN teams will participate in this year’s Geelong Community Cup, including debutante club Barwon SC, which kicks off on Wednesday 31^st January and will be hosted by Geelong Soccer Club at its recently renovated Stead Park complex in Norlane.

To be held over the course of five weeks, the longest running living football tournament in Victoria (established in 1981) will see hosts Geelong joined by traditional local powerhouses Corio, Bell Park and Geelong Rangers, as well as newer clubs Golden Plains, Deakin Ducks and Barwon SC, which will be making its State League 5 debut this year.

In a return to the format from yesteryear, Sunday evening fixtures have been ditched in favour of a mouthwatering midweek option, with the traditional blockbuster Friday night timeslot to be retained.

The Bannockburn based Golden Plains, which this week unveiled its new head coach Ahmad Sulaimi, will kick off proceedings against Ante Didulica’s Corio in the Cup opener on Wednesday 31^st January (6pm).

Host club and NPL aspirants Geelong will tackle State League 5 outfit Deakin Ducks in a real ‘David vs Goliath’ clash at 7:15pm, while Geelong Rangers will come up against new club Barwon SC at 8:30pm in a highly anticipated encounter as the final fixture of the tournament’s opening night.

This year’s tournament will see all seven clubs placed in the one group, with a round robin format adopted. Upon completion of the six group rounds, the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals with the Grand Final set down for Friday 2^nd of March.

The major sponsor of the Cup will once again be the Victorian State Government - for the second year running – while Football Federation Victoria (FFV) will sponsor the Fair Play Award for the third consecutive year. The team which accumulates the least amount of yellow and red cards will receive a $500 prize from the FFV.

The full fixture list for the 2018 Geelong Community Cup is as follows:

WEEK 1

WEDNESDAY 31^st Jan

6:00pm – Golden Plains v Corio

7:15pm – Geelong v Deakin Ducks

8:30pm – Geelong Rangers v Barwon

FRIDAY 2^nd Feb

6:00pm – Deakin Ducks v Bell Park

7:15pm – Barwon v Golden Plains

8:30pm – Corio v Geelong

 

WEEK 2

WEDNESDAY 7^th Feb

6:00pm – Corio v Barwon

7:15pm – Bell Park v Golden Plains

8:30pm – Deakin Ducks v Geelong Rangers

FRIDAY 9^th Feb

6:00pm – Golden Plains v Geelong

7:15pm – Barwon v Deakin

8:30pm – Geelong Rangers v Bell Park

 

WEEK 3

WEDNESDAY 14^th Feb

6:00pm – Bell Park v Geelong

7:15pm – Corio v Geelong Rangers

8:30pm – Deakin v Golden Plains

FRIDAY 16^th Feb

6:00pm – Bell Park v Corio

7:15pm – Golden Plains v Geelong Rangers

8:30pm – Geelong v Barwon

 

WEEK 4

WEDNESDAY 21st Feb

6:00pm – Deakin v Corio

7:15pm – Geelong v Geelong Rangers

8:30pm – Bell Park v Barwon

 

WEEK 5

WEDNESDAY 28th Feb

6:00pm – Women’s Exhibition Game

7:15pm – Play Off (3^rd v 4^th)

FRIDAY 2nd Mar

6:00pm – Women’s Exhibition Game

7:30pm – FINAL (1^st v 2^nd)