EMBARRASSING DAY FOR SOCCER Chatham Cup Lost, $5000 Sponsor Named

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32219, 11 February 1970, Page 15

EMBARRASSING DAY FOR SOCCER Chatham Cup Lost, $5000 Sponsor Named

(t\ew Zeutuiiu Press Association >

WELLINGTON.

The Chatham Cup soccer competition, which has languished in recent years because of a lack of financial support, had a great fillip yesterday with an injection of $5OOO sponsorship money from Gillette (N.Z.), Ltd—but the cup itself had disappeared.

At the same time as the company was holding a special function to announce their sponsorship, embarrassed officials of the New Zealand Football Association were searching for the trophy.

The three-foot-high silver cup went missing en route from Auckland to Wellington. Eastern Suburbs, of Auckland. the holder, was entitled to keep it until May. but the N.Z.F.A. requested that it be sent to Wellington for yesterday’s function. An Eastern Suburbs official took the cup to the N.A.C. Air Centre in Auckland last Friday morning and it was (supposed to be on yester- ; day’s 2.45 p.m. flight to Wel- ! lington. I Presented In 1923 However, when the N.Z.F A. secretary, Mr G. H. Moore, went to collect the cup from; the airport there was no sign! of it. Although the cup is insured, its real value cannot be calculated in terms of money It was presented in 1923 by the officers and crew’ of H.M.S Chatham an< is regarded as one ot the country’s finest, sporting trophies j The competition will now

be known as the Gillette; Chatham Cup. “We have always main- : tained a close association with sport and we felt this sponsorship was a way of promoting the game in New Zealand." the company's general manager (Mr R. Farmer) said at the function held in Wellington. Open Draw The chairman of the N.Z.F.A. (Mr J. Cowie) said the sponsorship came when reorganisation of the Chatham Cup was being considered “But this sponsorship will , now allow us to run it as an open draw along similar lines

to the F.A. Cup in England.” he said. All the money would go to the clubs involvea to pay travelling and incidental expenses in the later rounds, he said. Travelling expenses had been the N.Z.F.A.’s major ; obstacle in introducing the open draw system. Seeded Teams Mr Cowie saiu he was sure that with this money avail-: able, the two top teams in the country would meet in the! final, which would make for a better game for all concerned. No prize-money will be involved in this year's competition, but this may come later, he added It is planned to seed the eight teams in the Rothman’s National League into the last 16 of the cup competition. They will then play against other teams from their region. and the final eight will go into an open draw