Despite the top brass of the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) and the East Bank Football Association declining to participate and the failure of the Georgetown Football Association executive to respond to theirs, the Petra Organization in collaboration with the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company has decided to go ahead and yesterday officially launched the inaugural GT&T Knockout Football Championships.
The event, which is expected to feature teams from Upper Demerara, Berbice and East Demerara Football Associations, will be played initially in a round-robin format.
Eight teams will be divided into two groups of four, with the group winners advancing to the knockout round.
The respective group runners-up and third place sides will then match skills in a single playoff match for the two other semi-final berths. The tourney will run from Saturday to the 2nd of December.
Representing the East Coast are Victoria Kings, Ann’s Grove and Golden Grove while the Upper Demerara contingent will be Topp XX, Milerock and Winners Connection. Berbice will be represented by Rosignol United and New Amsterdam (NA) United.
Group-A will comprise of Golden Grove, Winners Connection, Rosignol United and Victoria Kings while group-B will feature NA United, Topp XX, Ann’s Grove and Milerock.
The winning team is expected to pocket $500,000 and the championship trophy while the second place side will pocket $250,000 and the respective accolade. The third place side will receive $125,000 and a trophy while the fourth positioned unit will collect $75,000 and the respective accolade, stated the organisers.
Petra Organization Co-Director and tourney coordinator Troy Mendonca expressed thanks to the company for coming on board and making an tangible contribution to the development of the sport, noting that the organization had to be resolute and patient in their efforts to start the programme.
He thanked Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Chairman Clinton Urling for sanctioning the event as well as the new executives of the UDFA, ECFA and BFA for granting approval for their teams to compete.
According to Mendonca, he is looking forward to the continued relationship for the development of the sport in this regard.
Mendonca said that the event was aimed at the teams not competing in the GFF Elite League and that invitations were sent to all six of the aforementioned associations for them to participate in the championship.
“The West Demerara Football Association and the East Bank Football Association declined our invitations while we have not received any confirmation from the Georgetown Football Association regarding their teams despite making several attempts. We can’t wait any longer as we have a timeframe,” he added
Marketing and Public Relations Manager Anji Hackett during a brief address said that while football is being played often, not many corporations and entities are willing to sponsor the sport.
She noted, however, that the company was proud to be onboard with the event while partnering with the Petra Organization, declaring that she wishes the event the best of luck throughout its entirety.
GT&T Representative Nadia DeAbreu said that the company is happy once again to be apart of football, noting the tourney has a variety of teams with various parts of the country being represented while wishing the organizers a successful venture.
The tourney will commence on Saturday at the No.#5 ground in Berbice with a doubleheader. In the opening fixture, Winners Connection will oppose Rosignol United while NA United will tackle Milerock in the feature contest.
The event will continue on Monday at the Victoria ground with another doubleheader. The opening match will pit Golden Grove against Victoria Kings while the second matchup will witness Topp XX facing off with Ann’s Grove.
