Cougars announce first American football match

By John Bevan

The newly formed Kingston Cougars will face the Birmingham Lions away in their first match on December 10.

The friendly is part of Kingston’s affiliation year, where they have to play a number of games to show that they are competitive enough to join the local university league.

American football president Wasilij Korotchenko has used some fighting talk in the run up to the fixture, writing on facebook: “Practice after practice! Birmingham Lions will wish they’ve never heard of Kingston Cougars.”

The team have been itching for their first game since training began in late September and they now feel ready to compete with the big boys.

Birmingham have three national championships to their name but Korotchenko still seems to think that his side are in with a chance. He said: “The good thing is that we have a lot of big boys and physical boys. A lot of other teams lack in size, which is where we will do well.”

The Birmingham Lions have a big following within their university and have an annual Xplosion game, where fireworks and live performances are part of the entertainment.

Kingston Coach Phil De Monte, said: “The amount of support Birmingham and Portsmouth (Destroyers) get is massive and that’s what we need if we want to do well. If we get that, I can definitely see us winning the championship within three years.”

There is a lot of anticipation in the Cougars’ camp, and after three months of solid training, Korotchenko and Co. are ready to compete with the best.