Stabroek Sport spoke to Muhammad yesterday and he disclosed that his organization, which is responsible for the promotional aspect of the event, had begun to send letters to various entities for their support.
Muhammad said yesterday the aim of the event is to aid the HFF and ensure that all monies are handed over to the body that had 30 of its members killed when the association’s building crumbled after the 7.0 earthquake hit the country’s capital Port-au-Prince on January 12. He said that the organisation, which is also headed by Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major, has dispatched letters to all its major sponsors that have been on board over the years for its various events.
Muhammad said the thrust is not to spend any money but for the sponsors to understand the cause and the suffering the people of Haiti are experiencing.
Further, he stated that if the two bodies can get free airtime on radio and television it would be most welcomed.
He said that while he is somewhat sure of the support he can get from the Hits and Jams Television (HJTV) station in that regard, he hopes that the other entities the organisation has written to will follow suit.
He said that with the meeting “this afternoon” (yesterday afternoon) members of the K&S organisation will be looking to work out the remaining logistical issues before they start making follow-up enquiries with the sponsors.
He also hopes that somehow if the organisation can get sponsors to put up prize monies for the matches it would be a good venture and then the winners can donate their winnings to the Haiti fund.
Muhammad also stated that there will be donation boxes set up at the venue for persons to make their contributions.
On the other hand, the GFF has been instrumental in securing the players and the teams that will be clashing on February 21 at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground. The GFF also managed to get the venue with no cost attached and this Muhammad said is the spirit he wants to see exercised by other companies.
The first match of the night from 18:00 hours will be between Pele and Topp XX while the feature match will showcase K&S 2009 champions and runner-up teams BK International Western Tigers and Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United respectively.
Meanwhile, in the mining community of Linden, Major, who was part of the Haiti Relief Committee of Linden in collaboration with the K&S organisation raised in the vicinity of $300,000 when it held two benefit matches for the people of the earthquake ravaged country.
In those games Eagles United were soundly whipped by Milerock 5-1 and K&S 2009/2010 champions BK International Western Tigers was beaten 0-1 by Bakewell Topp20.
‘Shanghai’ Major said that the people of Linden came out in their numbers to show their solidarity for the people in Haiti. He also stated that the committee plans to hold a ‘Barbecue and Lime’ at the River Front and other events after which the committee will be handing over the money to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).
The earthquake, which has affected an estimated three million people with Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive declaring on February 3 that some 200,000 people had been identified as dead, was the worst in over half a century. An estimated 300,000 injured persons have been treated.
