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<p>The schoolboy football season will begin on September 7 with 44 teams vying for the Corporate Area's Manning Cup title and 85 teams competing for rural area daCosta Cup honours.</p>
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<p><br>At the launch on Wednesday at Terra Nova Hotel, it was announced that both competitions will have the same format as they had last year with the season lasting four months and ending December 7.<br>The Manning Cup will be split into seven groups. There will be two groups consisting of seven teams with all the other groups having six teams. The top two teams in each of the groups as well as the two best overall third-placed teams will advance to the second round.</p>
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<p>The 16 teams in the second round will be seeded with the top seed pairing against the bottom seed with corresponding matchups from both ends of the seeding. They will play home-and-away ties.<br></p>
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<p>The winners will then be placed in two groups of four with the top two teams contesting the semi-finals before the final.</p>
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<p>The daCosta Cup will have the traditional 15 zones with the winners and runners-up automatically qualifying for the second round, which will be completed by the two best overall teams. Like the Manning Cup, the second round will be seeded with home-and-away matchups. The winners will advance to the quarter-finals, which will consist of four teams competing in four zones. The winners will move onto the semi-finals before the final.<br>The Champions Cup knockout will comprise of the eight top teams from both the Manning Cup and daCosta Cup.</p>
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