With the feeling of winning a league title evading their grasp for several years coach of traditional giants Pele FC, Justin Bentick, said that their objective will be to win the inaugural Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Beer Elite League.
Though one of the top teams in the country, Pele has not won a league competition in over 17 years.
However all that is about to change if coach bentick can have his way.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sports Bentick said:“The objective is to win the tournament. The club has a big name and the players are looking to maintain the standard as well as raise it to another level and do better than the players that came before.”
Bentick feels that his players are gelling nicely.
“The players are coming together well and we have the mindset of winning the tournament. We have a good mix of experience and youth and have to challenge ourselves because the last time the club won a league it was in 1996-1997.
“We have won knockout tournaments, but the players want to experience what it’s like to win a league,” he added.
According to Bentick, the preparation has progressed well despite the initial setback due to the weather.
Asked what will be required tactically to make those aspirations a reality, he said:“The emphasis will be on defence. We have a lot of offensive players but while goals win matches, defence wins tournaments so we have to go with a more defensive mindset. The offense is natural with the players we have so we have to focus on the defence.”
The inaugural event, which is expected to begin on Friday at the Leonora Sports Facility, will see eight teams from several associations across the country vying for supremacy. 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.
