-Alpha United to face stern test from Pele
The annual Mayor’s Cup Invitational Inter-Club knockout football tournament gets underway tomorrow with a double header at the Georgetown Football Club ground (GFC) with the usual Georgetown versus Linden rivalry.
The mining town’s Bakewell Top XX is set to take on GFC in the curtain raiser at 6:00pm while the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will oppose the tourney’s other Linden team Milerock FC in the feature encounter.
All games in the 16-team tournament will be contested at the GFC ground with matches billed for 6:00pm and 8:00pm kick-off times respectively.
The teams will battle for the top prize of $500,000 while the runner-up will receive $200,000.
Cash prizes of $100,000 and $50,000 are set for the third and fourth finishers respectively while there are individual prizes also up for grabs.
The teams are Bakewell Top XX, GFC, BK Int’l Western Tigers, Milerock, Alpha United, Uitvlugt, Sunburst Camptown, Pouderoyen, Bakewell Buxton Stars, Uprising, Fruta Conquerors, Golden Grove, GDF, BV/Trimph, Pele and Victoria Kings.
According to a press release, the tournament’s organizing committee had originally scheduled a January 23 start but owing to the inclement weather which affected the preparation of the teams, the start was postponed.
Public Relations Officer of the Mayor’s Cup organizing committee Mark Bradford stated yesterday that all systems were now in place for the commencement of the eight-day competition and spectators can expect exciting games on every day of play.
This tournament is expected to be better than last year’s with defending Alpha United being under pressure from top teams from around the country fighting for honours, including the 2008/2009 Kashif and Shanghai victors Pele.
GDF, Sunburst Camptown, and Fruta Conquerors, who have been playing terrific football will be looking to have a great start to this football season while other top teams will be aiming to get this tournament under their belt in the quest to qualify for the 2009/2010 K&S tourney.
