Anthony Cassar Torregiani was born on June 12, 1882. He was educated at St Ignatius College, a school seeped in football traditions.
It was this inherited love for football, together with his philanthropic leanings, which prompted Cassar Torregiani to set up the Cassar Charity Cup in 1921.
Cassar Torregiani was a successful businessman but before he embarked on his career, he served for a short period in the Royal Malta Artillery. This was a family tradition which was carried on by his sons, Frank and Austin, both of whom had a long military career.
Cassar Torregiani also served in the Senate, the Chamber of Commerce, the National Bank of Malta and on several boards and committees. He is, however, best remembered for his charity work.
At the end of the First World War, following the June 7 riots, relations between the Maltese and the British were at their lowest ebb. It was at this time that Cassar Torregiani came up with the idea of organising a competition between Maltese and Service teams. Together with other well-known gentlemen, he formed a committee and the competition was launched late in April 1921.
The aim was to raise funds for charities. ‘Is-sur Tonin’ donated the cup which was appropriately called the Cassar Charity Challenge Cup.
A set of rules was drawn up, and for the first competition, Floriana were chosen as the Civilian League champions, Valletta United as the Cousis Shield winners, HMS Iron Duke as the United Service League winners, and the Loyal Regiment as the United Service Cup winners.
This combination fuelled the expectations of the Maltese.
HMS Iron Duke and the Loyals had a formidable team and the local enthusiasts, in their imagination, ranked them as the equals of the Liverpools and the Manchester Uniteds of their era.
However, there was a great disappointment in store. As it happened, when the time came for the competition to start, both teams were away from the island. Their places were, therefore, taken up by the league’s runners-up, the Essex Regiment, and the cup finalists, the Royal Garrison Artillery.
Despite the absence of HMS Iron Duke and the Loyal Regiment, the first Cassar Cup was a huge success.
As usual, the competition was played at the Mile End ground.
The stadium was so small that a crowd of 10,000 gave the impression of being ten times that number. The atmosphere was electric as the Maltese cheered their favourites against ‘the English’.
The first match was played on April 16, 1921 between Floriana and the Essex Regiment. Floriana won 1-0.
The match between Valletta United and the RGA was played on April 30. The Service team won 2-1 and earned the right to meet Floriana in the final.
The final was played on May 7 before a huge crowd. Both teams were well-balanced and for a time the match seemed to be heading for a draw until Joe Tabona scored with a 40-metre drive to give victory to the Maltese champions.
A few weeks later, Tabona, one of the brightest stars in the history of Maltese football, died suddenly at the tender age of 21.
After the match, Cassar Torregiani presented the cup to Floriana and a set of medals to both teams.
The competition was a huge success and in its heyday yielded thousands of pounds for charity.
With the Aervices run-downs after the war, the competition lost much of its allure. The Services eventually withdrew their participation and although the competition continued up to the late 1960s it died a natural death.