Through a collaborative effort of Banks DIH and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCY&S) the inaugural Georgetown Football Association (GFA) Guinness Futsal Competition was launched yesterday and commences this evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The eight matches for the evening will be Beacons versus Plaisance Champions, Black Pearl versus North Grove, Fruta Conquerors versus Crane Rovers, Sunburst Camptown versus Houston Stars, Flamingo versus Buxton Back, GFC versus Uprising, BV Sideline Dam versus Riddim Squad and GDF versus South Soesdyke.
At the launching, Director of Sport Neil Kumar said that the work of a number of national associations was not satisfactory so the ministry decided “to begin working along to make sports better.”
“We will be working to raise the standard of the sport so parents and females can also come and enjoy the event without troubling activities such as smoking and fighting. As such systems have been put in place to clamp down on these activities,” Kumar stated further.
“I think this event would attract hundreds, even thousands of spectators because of the recent success of the Inter-block and Guinness Greatest of De Street competitions and because of this, Guinness has signed on.”
He commended the many persons and the association for their initiative in bringing the tournament into play during this season.
Banks DIH’s Lee Baptiste who was present at the simple launching ceremony stated that even with the ongoing global financial crisis the company still remained dedicated to the development of sport.
He further said that over the years football has had a very negative output but recently it has begun to show signs of improvement in terms of the level of football and discipline on and off the field and therefore the company can reach out to support the sport.
In closing, he expressed thanks to the sports ministry for partnering with the football association to give another boost to football for the country.
GFA’s President and Secretary Troy Mendonca and Marlan Cole were both very appreciative of the bond with the ministry and extended their gratitude at having the tournament played in one of Guyana’s most dependable sports facilities.
They then challenged fans and players to display good behaviour throughout the tourney as it would be good for the sport.
Mendonca also observed that “this is a terrific time for the commencement of the tourney because during the wet season our grounds undergo a lot of damage and later on affect us.”
This year’s tournament involves 24 teams, 15 of which are affiliates of the GFA and the others are top finishers of the ministry’s five-a-side Inter-Block Futsal Competition. The teams will be divided into eight groups of three teams.
Group A has Sunburst Camptown, Victoria Champions and Huston Stars; Group B – Apha United, flamingo and Buxton Back; Group C – Pele, BV Sideline Dam and Riddim Squad; and Group D – Western Tigers, Black Pearl and North Grove.
And in Group E are Fruta Conquerors, Northern Rangers and Crane Roves; Group F – Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Nelson Street, Mocha and South Soesdyke; Group G – Georgetown Football Club, Ann’s Grove Punters and Uprising; while Group H has Santos, Beacons and Plasiance Champions.
These teams will be competing for the top prize of $300,000 while the second place finisher will receive $150,000, third – $75,000 and fourth – $50,000 and the individual prize of Most Valuable Player (MVP) is also up for grabs. The competition will be played over eight days – July 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, 29 and the day of the final August 2.
An entrance fee of $300 will be charged to witness this much- anticipated football tournament.
The action starts at 7pm.
