Reigning T&T Football Association (TTFA) Premier League champions, Defence Force will kick off the defence of their knockout title, the First Citizens Knockout Cup in the round-of-16 on April 27 against the winners of the first-round clash between Cunupia Eagles of Tier II, and Terminix La Horquetta Rangers.
This was determined during the draw that involved all 11 participating teams in the TTFA Tier I and 15 clubs in Tier II when the draw was conducted by Amiel Mohammed, general secretray of the TTFA and Devorn Jorsling, a former national and Defence Force striker, and current head coach of Tier II club Harlem Strikers at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, Tuesday.
In his address, Mohammed said he was pleased to welcome First Citizens back into the top levels of local football as a major sponsor to the sum of $200,000 with $150,000 going towards the prize money for the finalists of the competition.
For the draw, the top three teams on the standings in both the Tier I and Tier II Divisions as of Monday, April 8, 2024, were given byes into the round-of-16 with Miscellaneous Police FC, AC Port-of-Spain, and Defence Force the beneficiaries in Tier I, and the trio of Guaya United, MIC Maura ReUnited and Harlem Strikers, from Tier II.
Among the mouth-watering round-of-32 match-ups set for April 20 are a meeting between Tier II rivals, Defence Force and Police FC, Caledonia AIA (Tier I) against Tier II’s Queen’s Park Cricket Club, and the University of T&T Patriots versus Prison Service FC.
Last season, Defence Force completed the double in the T&TPFL when they won the Knockout Cup, after battling past Terminix La Horquetta Rangers in a hotly-contested final 5-3 at the Diego Martin Sports Complex, Diego Martin. The quarterfinals are carded for May 4 and 5 while the dates for the semifinals and final are yet to be finalised.
First Citizens Knockout Cup
April 20 - Round-of-32
#1 - Defence Force FC (Tier II) vs Police FC (Tier II)
#2 - Cunupia Eagles (Tier II) vs La Horquetta Rangers
#3 - Caledonia AIA vs QPCC FC
#4 - Cunupia Eagles (Tier I) vs 1976 FC Phoenix
#5 - Club Sando (Tier II) vs Central FC
#6 - UTT Patriots vs Prison Service FC
#7 - San Fernando Giants vs Bethel FC
#8 - Point Fortin Civic vs Central Soccer World
#9 - Petit Valley/Diego Martin Utd vs Misc. Laventille Utd
#10 - Club Sando (Tier I) vs RSSR FC
Round-of-16 - April 27
Defence Force (Tier I) vs Cunupia Eagles (Tier II)/La Horquetta Rangers winner
Club Sando (Tier I)/RSSR FC winner vs Police FC (Tier 1)
San Fernando Giants/Bethel FC winner vs Harlem Strikers
Cunupia Eagles (Tier I)/1976 FC Phoenix winner vs Caledonia AIA/QPCC FC winner
AC Port-of-Spain vs Defence Force FC (Tier II)/Police FC (Tier II) winner
Guaya United vs Matura ReUnited
Point Fortin Civic/Central Soccer World winner vs UTT Patriots/Prison Service FC winner
Quarterfinals: May 4 and 5
Semifinals and Final: Dates to be determined
SOURCE: T&T Guardian