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

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)

Feildians Soccer 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 the Feildians winning the final by a score of 5-2 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 divisions to 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. Feildians and 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 Gamba said it was exciting to compete against different teams and see different fanbases come 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," Gamba said.

"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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