Action in the third annual Guinness-in-the-Streets football tournament will continue with the commencement of the Round-of-16 stage this evening at the National Cultural Center Tarmac from 7:00pm. The competition had been put on hold after the conclusion of the group phase of the tournament on November 22, due to the national and regional elections.
At a media briefing at the Guinness Bar outlet on Durban Streets, yesterday, tournament coordinators Marlan Cole and Troy Mendonca made the announcement, presented the round of 16 fixtures and assessed the way the competition has gone so far.
“The teams really fought hard to win their respective groups in which the prize money was $30,000. We were very impressed with the intensity of all the teams during the group stage and to be honest, we felt sad seeing 16 of the teams being knocked out,” said Mendonca.
“During the break I can attest to the fact that teams were using the extra time to prepare extra hard, so we can expect a good game in the knockout stages,” he added.
The coordinators also disclosed that a separate exhibition tournament will be played simultaneously alongside the main competition.
The participating teams are Customs, Media, Sweet Point, Clippers, Upper Level, YMCA, Oasis and Guinness Bar. These eight teams will be divided into two groups of four, where the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Prizes for the winner and runners-up are: first prize $100,000, second prize $50,000, third prize $25,000 and fourth prize $15,000.
The quarter-finals will be played on Saturday at East Ruimveldt Basketball Court while the semi-finals and final will be at the National Park on December 13 and 16.
