THE Fletcher Sports FA Cup buzz is spreading as more teams bid to land Guernsey’s richest sporting prize. A record 39 teams have submitted entries into this season’s football competition – the biggest in the Channel Islands – involving potentially 800 players.

As well as all the regular Priaulx sides, teams from the Sunday Soccer and Business Leagues and some new entries will be in the hat aiming to spring some giantkilling acts.

And the minnows will be aiming to emulate the achievements of SSL side Tiger City-St Jacques who reached last season’s semis.

Three different names are on the highly-sought after trophy since its formation three years ago – St Martin’s, Northerners and Sylvans.

But the holders have no intention of allowing anyone else’s hands on the cup.

‘It’s growing all the time and it’s a brilliant competition to be involved in – we won it last year and want to retain it,’ said Sylvans coach Martyn de Garis.

‘It’s nice to win any trophy but the FA Cup is special because it’s new. The main priority is the Priaulx League and the FA Cup is next. The £2,000 prize money is the big draw and no club can turn it down – everyone wants to win it,’ he said.

‘The Jeremie, Wheway and Stranger cups are still special and the FA Cup is up there with them.

‘You just don’t know what will happen with the draw – you might end up with Bels and North in the first round like last year or an easy run all the way through with no disrespect to the other teams. I hope that a team outside the Priaulx, like a Sunday League side, gets to the final. I think then you would have even more teams entering next year,’ said de Garis.

Fletcher Sports’ sponsor Terry Ferbr-ache is delighted with another bumper entry.

‘It goes on and on and seems to be the one the teams all want to enter and the prize money is still attractive – it’s Guernsey’s richest sporting prize,’ he said.

‘The attraction is that the minnows can take on the big boys and beat them and we saw that with Rocquaine United and Tiger City last year and Elizabeth College before.’

‘It gives the opportunity for players not playing Priaulx to show how good they are against the giants. It’s got the magic of the real FA Cup,’ he said.

The Guernsey Football Association is not yet in a position to reveal all the entry names as 12 entries have been received from non-affiliated clubs.

These will have to go before the GFA board on 13 August for approval and the preliminary draw will be held as soon as possible after that, said the association’s commercial director James Blower.

It has been pencilled in to hold the preliminary and first round draws live on Channel TV’s Report Sport programme at 6.15pm on Monday 20 August.

Once in the hat the teams will battle it out to reach the final at Foote’s Lane on Wednesday 2 April 2008.

Last year it was mooted that top Jersey sides including current Channel Islands champions Jersey Scottish and Trinity had their eyes on glory and wanted a piece of the action and the cash prize.

But GFA secretary Neil Laine confirmed yesterday that no applications for entries from Jersey teams have been received.

The other key confirmed dates to look out for are:

Round 1 – Thurs 25 to Sun 28 Oct; Round 2 – Fri 30 Nov to Sun 2 Dec; Quarter-finals; Fri 4 to Sun 6 Jan; semi-finals; Tues 11 and Wed 12 March.