Initially programmed to be played on a home and away format, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Beer Elite League will now be contested on a different match-day basis, with none of the competing teams slated to host their allotted amount of seven home fixtures.
The first round of the event which is dubbed League Genesis, was slated to be contested in a home and away format, with each team playing 14 matches in total. Seven of the allotted games were to be hosted at the team’s home venue while the remaining seven will be away games.
However according to the fixture, none of the teams will be playing seven games on their home venue with Monedderlust, Slingerz FC, Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force hosting four out of their allotted games.
Similarly, Buxton United will not be playing any of their games at their actual home venue, with Enmore Cricket ground seemingly acting as their home base with of their competing four match-days slated for the locale.
In another observation of the fixture, the newly lit Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground will have the lion share of the tourney with five days programmed to stage fixtures. The Queenstown venue was recently used to stage matches in the 25th Kashif and Shanghai tournament.
On the other hand, the Bourda based Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground will have the least amount of match-days with three.
Overall they will be seven venues across the 28 matchday League Genesis round, with the other four locales being the No. #5 Community ground, Camp Ayanganna ground, Leonora Sports Facility and the Tucville Community ground.
The inaugural event which is expected to begin on September on 18th at the Leonora Sports Facility, will consist of eighth teams from several associations across the country. The event is expected to last the duration of eight months.
Alpha United, Bakewell Slingerz, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Pele FC, Georgetown Football Club (GFC), Monedderlust FC, Buxton United and Fruta Conquerors are the competing teams.
Upon the conclusion of the League Genesis round, the top four finishers in terms of points will face off against each other in single knockout format to decide the winner of the round. The point’s leader will faceoff with the fourth placed side while the second positioned club will tackle the third positioned unit.
Winner of the League Genesis round will pocket $4,000,000 while the second, third and fourth place teams will collect $2,000,000, $1,000,000 and $500,000 respectively. Similarly, the point’s leader prior to the knockout stage in the League Genesis round will pocket an additional $1,000,000.
The second round which is called the League Finale, will utilize the same method with the winner pocketing $4,000,000. The second, third and fourth place teams will walk away with $2,000,000, $1,000,000 and $500,000 correspondingly.
Similar to the League Genesis, the resulting point’s leaders in the League Finale before the knockout competition will walk away with $1,000,000, with the total prize monies tallied for both rounds being $15,000,000.
The season champion will then be crowned when the winner of the League Genesis and League Finale respectively faceoff in a single matchup. That winner will then earn an automatic berth at the CFU level.
If the winner of the League Genesis and League Finale rounds are the same team, they will earn the automatic CFU spot, with the second berth going to the team with the most accumulated points in both rounds non-inclusive of the eventual season champion.
