The Greek Community Cup starts this weekend

Bill Papastergiadis and Michael Karamitos passionately highlighted the profound impact of the tournament on the lively and tight-knit Greek community, as they shared their thoughts with Neos Kosmos.

United Cup. Photo: Con Deves

James Deliyannis
10 January 2024 12:19pm

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The highly-anticipated Greek Community Cup is starting for the second year in a row, with only a couple more days before the event. The Heatherton United Football Club, located at 482 Springvale Road in Springvale South, will host the tournament beginning on Sunday, January 14th. Last year’s Greek Community Cup was a resounding success, with South Melbourne emerging as the winner. This year, eight blue and white clubs from all corners of Melbourne are set to participate, including Altona East Phoenix, East Kew, Heidelberg United, Kingston City, Malvern City, Oakleigh Cannons, South Melbourne, and South Springvale.

We contacted the mastermind of the event, Michalis Karamitos, and the president of the Greek community, Bill Papastergiadis, for a comment on the highly anticipated start of the Greek Community Cup.

“As children, we played for the clubs and looked forward to the Hellenic Cup, which brought our community together. We wanted to create a similar tournament to showcase the importance of Greek culture to young children. Our goal was to keep the spark of the Greek community strong for future generations.”

Mr. Karamitos stated, while the president of the Greek community, Bill Papastergiadis commented.

“The Greek Community Cup has a significant impact on the community. It brings people together through football and aims to guide young children. They represent the future of our Greek community and it is crucial for them to directly experience its influence. Events like the Greek Community Cup help strengthen relationships within the community and work towards creating a brighter future for its members. Additionally, it provides smaller Greek clubs a valuable opportunity to compete against larger clubs and gain more recognition.”

Mr. Papastergiadis praised Michael Karamitos’ hard work for the Greek Community Cup, which he has done and continues to do.

“Michael has been essential for the tournament. He came up with the idea, does all the hard work, and last year’s success of the Greek Community Cup is thanks to him.”

When we asked the two prominent members of the Greek community to give us a prediction on who will win this year’s cup, they did not single out any particular team.

“I think Heidelberg United will be very strong this year, but teams like Oakleigh, South Melbourne, Kingston, and Malvern also have a strong chance to stand out and excel in the competition.”

stated somewhat diplomatically the president, Mr. Papastergiadis, while Mr. Karamitos seemed ready to risk a little more with his prediction.

“I believe South Melbourne has a good chance of reaching the final once again, where they may face Oakleigh or Alexandros. And let’s not overlook the smaller clubs, as Mill Park made it to the final last year and proved that anything is possible.”

Mr. Karamitos commented on both the women’s and junior tournaments.

“The Women’s Greek Community Cup will be held in February and soon we will be able to share the details of the matches with the community. We have also planned to have the Junior Cup held sometime in September, after the end of the official season.”

Finally, we asked Mr. Papastergiadis to send a festive message to the Greek community for the new year.

“I wish a healthy, peaceful, and successful new year to everyone in the community. May 2024 be a great year for everyone.”

The schedule of the first phase of the Greek Community Cup

Sunday 14.01.24

Heidelberg United – Malvern City 13:00

Altona East Phoenix v East Kew 14:30

South Melbourne – Kingston City 16:00

South Springvale – Oakleigh Cannons 17:30

Wednesday 17.01.24

Oakleigh Cannons – South Melbourne 19:00

Malvern City – Altona East Phoenix 20:30

Thursday 18.01.24