US Portsmouth players set to face each other as inter-services championship action returns to Fratton Park

And players from local club United Services Portsmouth could be facing each other in the tournament opener on Wednesday (7pm).

Wessex Leaguers USP have three players in the Navy squad - Cameron Quirke, Elliott Holmes and Shawn Benjamin - while Reece Frost is in the RAF squad.

The three Navy players missed USP’s 5-0 Wessex loss at Horndean at the weekend as they were on a warm weather training camp in Portugal.

Fellow Wessex club Bemerton have two players involved in the tournament - 21-goal top scorer Greg Peel (Army) and Phil Bright (RAF).

The RAF’s leading player is former Bristol Rovers and Exeter midfielder Jake Gosling, who has played internationally for Gibraltar and who currently turns out for Bristol Manor Farm in the Southern League.

Fratton Park has hosted the Navy before, but this week’s match is the first for several years with the Navy’s recent home games having been staged at Yeovil Town’s Huish Park.

The Navy travel to face the Army at Aldershot Town FC the following Wednesday while the men’s competition wraps up with the RAF hosting the Army at Shrewsbury Town FC on March 29.

The women’s tournament is staged along similar lines, with the Navy’s home tie with the RAF taking place at USP’s Victory Stadium tomorrow (7pm).

The men are playing for the Cassar Cup, which the RAF lifted in 2022.

The Navy, meanwhile, are long overdue a win. The RAF won every year between 2007-2014 before the Army rattled up five wins in a row.

The RAF triumphed in 2022 following a two-year break due to the pandemic.

Tickets for the Fratton Park clash are free and can be booked via the Eventbrite website.