The five-a-side tournament, which starts on the 17th November, will see squads of up to ten battle it out on the field for a chance to play in the semi finals at the England national team’s training centre – St George’s Park, and the finals at the home of Chelsea Football Club, Stamford Bridge.
Simon Stanford, Vice President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland said: “Samsung is committed to all of its customers, whether that’s end users or channel partners and the Galaxy Cup gives us an opportunity to support our valued partners and show our appreciation for the hard work they do.”
A nationwide customer incentive, the ‘Galaxy Cup’ offers IM channel partners across the country the chance to take part in the UK’s biggest five-a-side tournament. It will see eight weeks of league football played at 32 participating Goals Soccer Centres (GSC) nationwide, with Samsung’s channel partners playing weekly round-robin matches taking place on the four Sundays before Christmas and four Sundays in the New Year, finishing on Sunday 2 February.
Each team will receive Samsung-branded Adidas kit with their team name on the back, and there will be ongoing incentives awarded throughout the tournament including ‘Galaxy Cup’ spot prizes, given for on-pitch team and player performance. Finalists will also be given a football celebrity manager to coach them throughout the final matches at Stamford Bridge in May.
Channel partners can register using Samsung Backstage, a dedicated online portal that allows participants to chart team progress, manage fixtures and view results. Throughout the tournament, short weekly round-ups will also be broadcast via the portal, hosted by Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves. In addition, the semi-finals and finals, officiated by Premier League referees will both be shown on Samsung Backstage with additional match commentary and celebrity interviews.
The final, due to take place at the end of May, 2014, will be commented on by a National TV commentary team and the Galaxy Cup champions will receive the tournament trophy on the Stamford Bridge pitch by a Chelsea FC Legend.