The inaugural Guinness Greatest of the Streets National Championships was officially launched yesterday during a media briefing at the Thirst Park Conference Room, Banks DIH Limited.
The tournament which comprises eight teams and is slated to be played over three days inclusive of Friday May 24th, Saturday 26th and on Monday 27th at the Demerara Park Tarmac (Banks DIH Parking Lot), was organized as a means of selecting the best possible community team from various locales to represent the nation at the Regional Tournament in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines from June 21-23.
The respective teams which earned their berths on the national stage following tournament victories and runner-up finishes at their corresponding Guinness editions and zonal street tournaments are Georgetown (GT) sides Leopold Street and Back Circle, East Coast (EC) units Plaisance and Victoria Church Yard United, Bartica outfits (BAR) Millennium and Hardcore and Linden (LIN) teams Silver Bullets and Silent Assassins.
Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste during opening remarks stated that Banks DIH under the aforesaid brand is proud and thankful to be a part of such a national initiative as it provides the possibility for street players to represent the country.
“This tournament presents the opportunity for players to compete at an international level and to reach for greatness. I wish all the teams success and good luck in the tournament and to remember that the referee’s decision is final”, added Baptiste.
Lee further stated that the Bartica representatives Hardcore and Millennium were selected through a street football tournament sponsored by Banks DIH held during the Bartica Regatta festivities to represent that zone.
Petra Organization Co-Director Troy Mendonca posited “While we didn’t complete all the areas we would have liked, we have four areas represented as eight teams will compete in two groups with each team playing three games each. Each team will compete twice on opening night and once on Saturday which will lend to the group winners and resulting runners-up being identified that night. The remaining four teams on the final slated playing night will compete in the semifinal and finals round” added Mendonca.
Group A
Leopold Street -GT
Silver Bullets-LIN
Hard Core -BAR
Victoria Church Yard- EC
Group B
Silent Assassins-LIN
Back Circle-GT
Plaisance-EC
Millennium-BAR
