The Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground, Bourda is the venue for the opening ceremony and the final of the Banks Beer sponsored end-of-year knockout football tournament, which should see some 24 teams vying for the $4 million first prize.
The eight-day competition, which will be played under the auspices of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) and kicks off on December 16, was launched yesterday at the beverage company’s Thirst Park headquarters.
General Secretary of the GFA Christopher Matthias said 16 Georgetown teams would play in the tournament, and pending successful logistical arrangements, they would be joined by eight teams from three sub-associations – Linden, East Coast and West Coast.
“…We are working out the logistics with respect to the participation [of the eight teams] so in a matter of days we should have the entire fixture available, once they are on board,” Matthias said.
He revealed that they had started preparations early because they wanted clubs to have adequate time to get ready, “and to produce football of a higher standard than the last time.” The tournament was first played last year.
“Prize money will be $4 million first prize, $2.5 million second prize, $1.5 million third prize and $1 million fourth prize,” he said.
Matthias said too that the standard of refereeing will be improved thus ensuring that the more than 10,000 fans expected will not be disappointed.
According to the general secretary, in an effort to give back to fans, the entrance fees are very attractive. The preliminary rounds will see patrons paying $500, while the quarter finals to final will attract a price of $1,000.
Matthias said too that in another 14 days, the GFA will be launching the Players Cup Competition, which will feature all of the teams expected to participate in the end-of-year tournament.
“This will allow all of the clubs that have not participated in the Super 8 the necessary practice… the clubs will have the requisite training before,” he added.
Banks DIH Sales and Marketing Executive Carlton Joao said his company was happy to be working with the GFA again, but noted that this was nothing new as the beverage company has always been a support of football.
“There is no other company that is behind football and supports football the way Banks has over the years,” Joao said. “At every level of promotion, every level of the sport from Pee Wee right up, we have been there. It is almost an obligation on our part to ensure that we keep football playing.”
Last year, he noted, the company stepped up to the plate and gave the people what they were looking for when it partnered with the GFA for the inaugural competition.
He said that for various reasons football was not being played the way it should and the company felt that things needed to get back to the way they were.
“We grabbed the opportunity and the response was overwhelming, everyone would have known what happened last year at the finals,” he recalled.
Meanwhile, President of the GFA Vernon Burnett said the association was once again pleased to be partnering with the beverage giant.
“We are always willing and ready to provide good standard of football and keen competition,” Burnett stated.
“If need be we have another couple of days for the quarter finals, semifinals and other matches but we will be making an assessment as we go along based on attendance,” he added.
