Fruta Conquerors Secretary Daniel Thomas declared that the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, the confederation’s second tier championship, is very important to the aspirations of the club, as it can illustrate that the entity is capable of contending on the regional stage.
This remark was stated yesterday during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport. According to Thomas, “It is important not only for us but for Guyana, what it can demonstrate is that our club is capable of competing at the next level of international football in CONCACAF. This is the CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield and it’s a competition for amateur ranked clubs, but the organisation of this competition by CONCACAF is very much very professional. The entire operation gives one the feel of preparing for a professional engagement at the highest level.”
The Tucville-based outfit was drawn in Group ‘C’ of the event which will kick-off in Curacao on April 23. The Guyanese are scheduled to play St Vincent and the Grenadines side Hope International, and Aruba unit Racing Club. Fruta Conquerors qualified for the tournament by virtue of being the defending Elite League champion.
The Elite League has been at a standstill since May 27, 2019, with Conquerors defending their championship with a perfect record of nine wins. Fruta Conquerors competed in the 2019 version of the prestigious Caribbean tournament, finishing in the cellar of Group ‘A’ with a record of two losses and a draw in Curaçao.
Asked how is the club managing to acquire the necessary funding to make this happen and if the GFF has offered financial support to the team, Thomas disclosed, “The acquisition for funding for this competition has been a struggle [and] even though some sponsors have made some timely donations, we are not to that level as yet where we can say we have covered our major expenses. To those sponsors who have thus far come onboard and assisted we say a big ‘thank you’.”
He further disclosed, “We have engaged the Federation, they are aware of our current situation, they have always been very supportive and I’m quite sure that some form of tangible assistance shall eventually be given. We are still trying to meet the Minister of Sports to have a conversation with him, and we are hoping that this would be facilitated soon.”
The 2021 Caribbean Club Shield, which is in its fourth edition and is also known as the CFU Club Shield, is staged annually and features clubs from associations affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation under the jurisdiction of CONCACAF.
The Caribbean Club Shield, which is directly supervised and administered by CONCACAF, was introduced in 2018 for non-professional leagues that are striving towards professional standards.
