The decision for the Barbados based Caribbean United Football Club, to participate in the Banks DIH Sponsored end of year tournament was done in the best interest of the Club says Manager Dexter Bowman.
Via telephone with Stabroek News Sport, Bowman confirmed that his club was in negotiations with the organizers of the Kashif and Shanghai tournament but said decided to try something different when talks did not go according to plan.
“Things did not work out as we planned, but Caribbean United is a team that worked hard right throughout the year and deserves and deserves to compete in an overseas tournament”.
Caribbean United according to Bowman is accustomed to travelling each year end for an invitational tournament, so it should not come as a shock when it made the decision to compete in the Banks Tournament. Bowman also his club has no disagreements with the Kashif and Shanghai organizers.
Kashif Mohamed, one of the organizers of the Kashif and Shanghai tournament said they did not contact any overseas teams to compete in the 23rd staging of the championship because of the paucity of the tournaments held locally. Given that they did not want to take the chance to have another oversea team walking away with $4 million cash prize.
Caribbean United according to Bowman comprises nationals from several Caribbean territories and like any of the local teams stands a good chance at winning the tournament.
During a three years period, the team he said had worked its way up from a third division to first division which makes it one of the strongest teams in Barbados.
The Georgetown Football Association had been in negotiations with the club for sometime.
