OUR CHANCE TO MAKE HISTORY!

LEGENDS INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION

By Matt Badcock

MILES BETTER: Crystal Palace’s Mile Jedinak lifts the inaugural Generation Cup

PICTURE: Andy Nunn

FAMOUS names from football’s history will kick-off the second Generation Cup next Sunday.

The competition conjures up images of Netflix series The English Game and, having celebrated the 150th anniversary of the FA Cup last year, now moves onto the first decade of the great knockout cup.

Crystal Palace were triumphant at St George’s Park and this year sees a number of clubs from the north of England involved, including Blackpool, Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers and a resurgent Darwen FC.

With club legends set to be involved and the idea of father-son football, each team can only have a maximum of five players under 40 on the pitch at a time and a minimum of three over 50s.

Rematch

Civil Service host Groups 1 and 2 of the Southern Section on Sunday, January 22 (kick-off 11am). The hosts take on Clapham Rovers and Old Westminsters, while Upton Park, Oxford University and The Wanderers face off in Group 2.

FA Cup winners in 1881, Old Carthusians are in Group 3 against Old Foresters and Old Wykemhamists on Sunday, January 29.

Charterhouse School in Surrey will host those games, along with Group 4 featuring Royal Engineers, Reigate Priory and Maidenhead United.

Group winners will face off for the two Southern places in Finals Fay on March 12 at St George’s Park.

There will be two Northern winners from the two groups with games on Sunday, February 5 hosted by Darwen FC.

In Group 5, Turton FC take on Liverpool Ramblers and Preston North End, while Group 6 sees a rematch of the famous Matthews Final of 1953 between Blackpool and Bolton alongside the famous hosts Darwen.

Organiser Jon Hunter said: “It promises to be another memorable competition with the added element of north v south at Finals Day.”