The second Gozo Cup football tournament will be played on the sister island between March 25 and 27, it was announced yesterday.

The tournament will be hosted by the Gozo Football Association and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Consumers, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dia-logue, headed by Chris Said.

Last year, a triangular tourna-ment was held to determine the winner of the first Gozo Cup but this time two groups will be required for the competition as the teams taking part have doubled.

Gozo Selection, Valletta and Hibernians were drawn in Group A, yesterday. The three teams in Group B will be Floriana, Ħamrun Spartans and Qormi.

Day One of the Gozo Cup will be reserved to the group matches with a duration of 45 minutes each.

The top team in each group qualify for the final on March 27 with the runners-up contesting the play-off for third place while the bottom teams in the group will figure in a match for fifth place.

All three matches on March 27 will be played over 90 minutes with the opening fixture kicking off at 1 p.m.

Addressing a news conference yesterday, Dr Said said the aim of the Gozo Cup was twofold – to foster new partnerships in sport and to boost home tourism in Gozo in the off-season.

“We can’t look at Gozo as a summer destination only,” he said.

“As the entry list shows, this tour-nament is fast gaining in popularity and we’re sure that many Maltese fans will cross over to follow their favourite teams at the Gozo Stadium. There will be special rates for those making the trip from Malta and for this we have to show our appreciation to Gozo Channel.”

Gozo FA president Alvin Grech shared Dr Said’s thoughts.

“This will be another occasion to showcase our island,” he said.

“We want the Gozo Cup to become more popular in future and the interest in the second edition shows that we’re on the right track.

“This tournament will also be an ideal opportunity for our players to gain more experience and for Gozitan football enthusiasts to see Maltese teams in action.”