Excelsior to give back through Ali Cup
The first edition of the much anticipated Ali Cup, a pre-season schoolboy football tournament to be held in memory of former Excelsior High School football star, Allie Cole Jr – son of legendary Jamaica football icon, Allan ‘skill’ Cole – will be held on the weekend of June 13-14 at Excelsior High School at 9 a.m.
Cole, who passed away late last year, will be commemorated in the form of this pre-season football tournament by his alma mater, for his invaluable contribution to the school’s football programme over the years. Excelsior principal, Deanroy Bromfield, said the concept and objective of the tournament was a fitting representation of Cole.
“This will certainly be a characteristic of Allie Cole,” he said. “We expect this to become a signature event. It will be a wonderful tournament and even better than the tournament will be the objective, which is to share support for the many schools around us.
“So for Excelsior, it means giving back and giving back in commemoration of somebody who was such a fantastic leader and Excelsorian,” he commented.
The inaugural Ali Cup will have eight participating teams, with four in each group. Hosts Excelsior, Camperdown, Kingston High and Dunoon will contest Zone A, while Holy Trinity, Papine, Clan Carthy and Vauxhall will make up Zone B.
Eight group games will take place on Friday, June 13, while the semi-final and final are set for Saturday June 14. The final, on a Sunday afternoon, will be followed by an invitational game between Lions United and Unsung Ones, which will showcase a host of former local and international football stars, including Walter Boyd and Anthony Corbett.
Top seeds from Zone A, Excelsior and Camperdown, and top seeds from Zone B, Holy Trinity and Papine, will not face each other in the group stage. As a result each team will only play two group games. Each game will last 50 minutes (25 minutes a half).