THE Portland Heywood Football Challenge Cup will be revived on Sunday when the two clubs go head-to-head at the Heywood Golf Club.

The Challenge, which was instigated in 1980 on the football field and was a way to celebrate the friendly rivalry between the two clubs with the winning team each year taking home the Cup.

Former Heywood senior coach and player Kevin Hughes has bought the event back to life since it was put aside in 2012 when Heywood shifted to the South West District Football Netball League.

While it was born from competition Hughes said its revival on the golf course is all about bringing people back together and increasing connections after some isolating years.

“When you get to my age and you’re a bit older people tend to drift away from their clubs and from other people and COVID has played an even bigger part in that,” he said.

“A lot of people are struggling with their mental health and we just want to give people something to connect over.

“The whole point of this is to re-engage people through the clubs after COVID and get back into life and celebrate or bring back those connections.”

The format of the day will be an Ambrose event with a shotgun start at 11am at the Heywood Golf Club with competitors encouraged to be there half an hour before.

There are already plenty of former and current players signed up with others encouraged to register on bookatee and join in come Sunday.

“We’ve got quite a few numbers signed up and we should have a fair few people there,” Hughes said.

“There are a few good golfers but it’s about having a fun day and any current players are also encouraged to come and get involved.

“You don’t event have to play golf, you can just get on the barbecue or come and hang out.

“There won’t be any individual prizes up for grabs, it’s all about the cup and whoever wins the cup.”

While it is a bit of trial and error this year, Hughes says they will work to continue having a Challenge event annually to reinforce the connections people have to their clubs.

“We’ll see how it all goes this year and might change some things next year if we need to,” he said.

“The bottom line is giving people something they can come to an catch up with some mates or other people from the club and have a good time.”