Cafe Tivoli Cup launched

The first edition of the Cafe’ Tivoli Cup was launched during a press conference at Cafe Tivoli, Hamrun on Monday. This cup will be putting against each other rivals Hamrun Spartans and Qormi. A match which will be played at the Centenary Stadium on Friday, kick-off at 19:00.

Gejtu Cuschieri said this was one in a series of cups that Hamrun Spartans will be playing for in the coming weeks. He said the Spartans’ committee wanted to start organising this match annually, during the week of the St. Gaetan feast, mostly as an attraction for the Hamrun supporters during the festive days.

However since the Victor Tedesco Stadium is being upgraded, the game will be played at the Centenary Stadium which hosted the Mare Blu Cup between Hamrun and Valletta last week.

Cuschieri thanked the sponsor – Eddie Borg of Cafe Tivoli – and appealed to supporters to attend, saying they would have enough time to watch the game and then go to Hamrun to enjoy the feast.

Eddie Borg said he was always willing to help the club and this cup provided the right opportunity to help the club and hopefully unite the two teams in a friendly atmosphere during the game.

On behalf of Qormi FC, vice-president Victor Camilleri thanked Hamrun Spartans for inviting them to take part and the sponsors. He said that hopefully this sporting spirit will reign during the game despite the rivalry between the two teams.

For the two coaches, this will be yet another test for the players at their disposal.

Hamrun Spartans coach Jesmond Zammit said the club has so far secured the services of foreigners Heiner Backhaus and Anderson Ribeiro and Gianluca Calabretta while retaining Omar Borg and Roderick Fenech. The Spartans are currently in negotiations with another two players as they continue working in order to strengthen the squad.

Qormi coach Stephen Azzopardi said that the club has so far signed two Brazilian players – midfielder Giuseppe Vela Junior and striker Jorge Pereira da Silva while confirming Greek defender Christos Karamanolis. They also signed veteran midfielder Dino Cachia and two promising youngsters – Charlon Sammut who played for Dingli Swallows and Christian Briffa of Hibernians.

Azzopardi revealed that the club is hoping to conclude the signing of Nigerian striker Daniel Nwoke who played for Floriana last season.

The Cafe Tivoli Cup – Hamrun Spartans vs Qormi – will be played on Friday 5th August at the Centenary Stadium, kick-off at 19:00.