With interviews and photos by Cathy Wilson
This week we asked Lindeners about the loss of economic and other benefits in the light of the Kashif and Shanghai organisation’s decision to change the host venue of the Football Championships from the Mackenzie Sports Club ground to the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.
Avalon John – resident – I think it’s a good thing those guys are doing because the Mackenzie Sports Club is not in good order and in good shape to accommodate the amount of people who usually come to the finals. Looking at things from a business perspective Linden will definitely feel it but this is what you call hard decision and tough love.
Shaundel Cameron – Cosmetologist – Kashif and Shanghai taking the football finals out of Linden will definitely hit the business community real hard but I think is a good thing they doing because it’s the very Linden people causing them to take the final to Georgetown. It is Lindeners managing the sports club and for all the years those guys have been pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the club yet the MSC management finds it’s so hard to do things to lift the standards of that facility. It is not fair to K&S, the players and more so the hundreds who come from all over the world just for the finals. Yes, this would affect Lindeners but there is nothing we could do about that.
Beris Aaron – Bus driver – What I think is that it’s a Linden thing but we have to look at the bigger picture we just can’t look at Linden. After all K&S looking for betterment for themselves and their moving to Georgetown it would be … bigger …not only [for] Linden but countrywide…[where] everybody could go and support. We have people coming from as far as Berbice and the distance would be shorter for them to come to the stadium. People from Linden can go to the stadium which has the capacity to accommodate more people. I think this is a good move by the K&S and we should support it because they are Lindeners and not because they are going to Georgetown means they would forget Linden.
Oswald Charles – Promoter – As a promoter I feel that they are taking the games to Georgetown because they will make more money but turn it around as for business people in Linden it will be a big discomfort. At the end of the day most of the people who do the sponsorship come from Georgetown. So if you take a year to please the Georgetown people nothing is wrong. I think that’s what the promoters are looking at. It is also a two-fold thing. For 18 years we had K&S held in Linden during that season, now it’s time for us as Lindeners to come together and look for something that could fill that void because Lindeners are looking forward to some social event. It would also put some pressure on the football knowing that while there’ll be football finals in Georgetown Linden has something else big going on. We should take this as a challenge because New Year’s Day is left open after 18 years.
Dennis Gill – Businessman – For a very long time it has been hinting that the tournament has outgrown Linden in many ways. Kashif and Shanghai have been making strides to better the facility at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground. They did not get a chance to better the facility for this year’s tournament and the facility is in a very bad state right now. The fittest place for the finals would be the National Stadium which I think is a good move. It’s a win-win situation for the footballers, promoters and the spectators. In my view it’s a very good move. In terms of the business community what I would like to see is the business people uniting for good. If we unite we can be honest and say that K&S organization is indeed a good organization in terms of putting things in place for us as business people. It is only now we are hearing that business people do well around the K&S finals. K&S have been taking the blame of not putting back anything into this community which I don’t agree with. But we must be optimistic that the tournament may come back to Linden.
Sean Thompson – Businessman – It is real hard for business people because we depend on K&S for the New Year football. This is the time that we usually get a lot of revenue coming into the town. So it is really hard at this time for business people. The other thing is that [that is] the time we get to promote Linden as a tourist area. Many people choose to come to Linden around that time not just not for football but to tour the area, meet the people and get to know our wonderful town. I am hoping for the best and hope that something big happens in Linden for the New Year.
Dwyane Charles
– Mini Bus Driver – I understand that it is due to the condition of the Mackenzie Sports Club the football finals is being moved to Georgetown. But I feel it all got started here and it should remain here. People should stop complaining and come out and do something about this. Kashif and Shanghai are looking at money for themselves and at foreigners coming and getting better seating arrangements. But I really feel the finals should not be moved from Linden. It’s the only event that got started in Linden and stayed for 18 years. That broke the spell of Georgetown taking what belongs to Linden. Mash started here, Town Week started here and so many other things and they were all taken away and blown up. I know that Kashif and Shanghai want Lindeners to come out and do something about this because this is the only thing that would cause the management of the Sports Club to improve that facility.
Leoni Alexander – Sales Clerk – I am very upset about the finals going to Georgetown. Kashif made a public promise that he would never move the finals from Linden. But if you think of it financially it makes a lot of sense but for Linden economically it is really bad for business. The other thing is the sports club is not big enough to hold the crowd. Year after year it has become so popular, the MSC can’t hold everyone and the stadium can, it is bigger by far and better. Despite all of this I am upset that it’s moving. Kashif is breaking his promise to Linden. It’s a very hard hit for us and it hurts.
Brindsley Fisher – Businessman – I seriously think that if they are moving the finals to Georgetown all the other games should be played in Linden and not Berbice and the other grounds in Georgetown. Kashif and Shanghai know of the situation Linden is facing. As it is we are struggling, really struggling to make ends meet. Many business people already stocked their stores for the year-end sale. I understand and agree that the sports club needs to be developed because for the past 15 years I have been sitting in the same area and rather than it getting better it has gotten worse. But still, come on Kashif and Shanghai you can’t take something this big away from us.
Kevin Barron – Businessman – As a businessman in this community I think it’s a hard hit to us. It’s like someone taking their hands and pulling your heart out because that’s one of the main events that bring high revenue for us for the entire year. If all year you make 20% of your sale on that day you usually make 120% to compensate for the rest of the year. This is why it’s a hard hit. However given the circumstances I understand why they had to make such a drastic move but it still hurts as a businessman in my pocket. I hope that next year we could come together and reach an agreement. We could play four to five games at the stadium and keep the finals here because the finals [are] the breadbasket for this community.
Oswyn Gaye – Youth – This is not a bad idea because we say we are looking for development and taking the games to the stadium is a move towards development. The finals [were] here for 18 years yet there hasn’t been a single area of development at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground. We are looking for a much bigger audience and the stadium is definitely better. Look at the 20/20 which draws hundreds from around the world and not just a few, but hundreds and that’s what we want for the Kashif and Shanghai tournament.
