Feildians crowned N.L. Cup champions in inaugural island-wide soccer tournament - Action News
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Feildians crowned N.L. Cup champions in inaugural island-wide soccer tournament

FeildiansSoccer Club have been crowned the inaugural winners of the N.L. Cup after a brand new island-wide tournament that brought teams from across Newfoundland together to fight for soccer glory.

Tournament format allowed for teams from different regions, divisions to face off

A soccer team poses for a team photo. Players in the front row are holding a sign that reads 'NL CUP' and a trophy sits on the soccer pitch.
The Feildians have won the first ever N.L. Cup, an island-wide soccer team that brought teams from across Newfoundland together to compete. They won the final by a score of 5-2 over 1949 FC. (Submitted by Colleen McConnell)

FeildiansSoccer Club have been crowned the inaugural winners of the N.L. Cup after a brand new island-wide tournament that brought teams from across Newfoundland together to fight for soccer glory.

Fifteen teams competed, with theFeildians winning the final by a score of5-2 over 1949 FC.

"I think the competition was a tremendous success in year one. Definitely still a lot of room to grow and so much more potential to capture, but I think it was a really nice platform to kind of give back to the game and give back to the players," tournament founder Patrick Hickey told CBC News.

"Football's on the rise in Canada, and in Newfoundland as well, so I think this was a great success."

The tournament began in May and follows the format of England's FA Cup, which brings teams from across the association's 10 divisionsto compete against each other in a single-elimination format. Matchups are randomly assigned in a draw.

That format allowed for a few interesting games, Hickey said, which included the final. Feildiansand 1949 FC compete in different divisions in St. John's, which means they'd never face each other outside of a competition like the N.L. Cup.

"It's a really exciting format that brings different teams together, different players together who may not otherwise have a chance to play each other. It just brings that excitement, that novelty, the unknown. What we often refer to as fans as kind of the magic of the cup," Hickey said.

Feildians Captain Bobby Gambasaid it was exciting to compete against different teams and see different fanbasescome together to cheer on their teams.

He became the first player to lift the N.L. Cup, which was designed by St. John's artist Morgan MacDonald.

"It was a bit heavy to lift, but I'm glad we were the first team to do it," Gambasaid.

"It's our club's 125th anniversary this year, so it's nice to cap off our season with a bit of hardware."

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With files from Krissy Holmes