By Rawle Toney
The saying “many are called but few are chosen,” could best describe the Kashif and Shanghai Tournament.
It features 15 of the country’s top football clubs and one team from Trinidad and Tobago all vying for a chance to claim the $1m first prize and the beautiful Silverware that comes with it.
The event will officially be declared open today at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in Linden, the same place where it all started in 1990.
This year, according to Kashif Muhammad, Co-Director of the Kashif and Shanghai Organization, things will be different than what fans are normally accustomed too.
“Over the years we have had the Linden versus Georgetown Senior game but after a while it has become too predictable and as such we have decided to go directly into the competition which will be of more interest to the public,” Muhammad said during an exclusive interview with Stabroek News.
Added to that Muhammad, he mentioned that the other reason for the cancellation of the Linden/Georgetown clash was that the sponsor, who takes care of the prize money for that encounter, was no longer on board with the tournament.
Opening
At 5:30 pm, five time Bakewell Topp XX will tackle RUSAL. It is expected to be a tough battle since the last time the two sides met, the Bauxite Company came out 3-1winners and prior to today’s match, both teams predicted victory.
The march past of the teams taking part in this year’s tournament will follow immediately after the Topp XX/RUSAL clash, and the organizers are asking fans to make their way to the MSC early.
Minister of Culture Youth Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony will declare the tournament officially open while Muhammad well deliver the tournaments over view and projections for the future.
After all the speeches, it will be back to the field of play with Milerock and Pele battling in a game that has more than just a step closer to the championship trophy at stake.
The last time the two sides met was in the 1997 finals where the Linden side prevailed 2-0 thanks to a double from national striker Randolph “Black Head” Jerome.
Since then none of the two teams have ever played in the finals of the event, and with both being optimistic of moving on, it is certain that a battle will be on
The top finisher of the tournament will receive $1M while second place will take home $500,000. Third fourth place teams will receive $250,000 and $125,000 respectively.
Public and Team
Support
To date the Co-Director the organization said that they have been receiving an unprecedented support from the public and the teams so far towards the tournament.
He said that they were more than satisfied with the participating teams’ preparation towards the starting of the tournament despite the inclement weather which is presently being experienced.
Muhammad said he knew for certain that this year the event would be big and that patrons could look forward to nothing but quality football.
“We are overwhelmed by the support we are having from the public towards this year’s event and with that I know that it will be very big. Every where we go especially in Georgetown, it’s the talk of the town and I know that Guyanese people are very passionate about their football”
But it has not been all smiles for the organizers since Muhammad said that they were a bit sad that the tournament was being played in Georgetown this year.
He, however hopes that the problems at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground will be looked at hastily so that it can return to the birth place in Linden.
“We are not too pleased this year that the Finals will be played at the stadium even though it is one of the best venues, because we know how much it means to the people of Linden, but on the other hand I think they understand the situation right now and we are working hard to make sure that it returns to the MSC ground” said Muhammad.
Looking on the bright side however, Muhammad said that corporate Guyana had embraced the move to the stadium since they had been able to sell most of their corporate boxes at the world class facility.
Tournament Expansion
The organizers are presently deliberating over the idea of increasing the tournament to 24 teams next year since the level of competition at the club level is at a high in Guyana.
“The tournament expansion is something that we are seriously discussing right now since we believe that they are many teams out there that are worthy of an opportunity in playing in the country’s most prestigious tournament. So we are looking at having 24 teams and we will start it more early in the year and will narrow it down to last 16 at this same time of the year” the organizer said.
He said the onus was now upon the clubs to maintain a high level of competition like they have been doing throughout the year so that fans can see quality football.
The first edition of the Kashif and Shanghai tournament was played in 1990 at the MSC ground in Linden with only four teams. The tournament first time winners were Milerock who defeated Eagles Untied in the finals with the prize money then being $4000 which only went to the winners of the tournament.
