After three weeks and 20 games involving the 24 teams in the inaugural Chico/Kashif and Shanghai Elite Next Generation Tournament it’s now down to the final four.
Tournament favourite, Wismar Christianburg, Ash Education, dark horses, St. George’s High and the Region Seven outfit, Waramadong Secondary all clinched semifinal berths on Friday to move one step closer to the grand prize.
Today, the finalists of the tournament will be determined when semi-final action kicks off at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground.
Wismar Christianburg who trounced Ann’s Grove 5-2 in their quarterfinal fixture will tackle a game St. George’s team which outgunned MacKenzie High School 6-5 on sudden death penalties at 16:00hrs.
Two hours later, tournament heavyweight, Waramadong who also needed spot kicks to dispose of a spirited Charlestown unit (3-1), will come up against the high scoring Berbice based, Ash Education team which has found the back of the net on 16 occasions in their two games without conceding a goal.
In their round of 16 and quarterfinal games, Ash Education thrashed President’s College 13-nil and defeated Annandale 3-nil.
With a large crowd always on hand to support the Waramadong ball weavers, the Region Seven team will feel right at home at GFC but will face their toughest test yet since arriving in the city.
A thrilling game is in the making. No disrespect to St. George’s who are on a dream run but it will be the upset of the tournament if the city side somehow managed to boot out the top seeded team. A victory will take herculean heroics but upsets happen in the sport of football.
All school aged children will be admitted free to the venue as was the case throughout the competition which started on December 8.
The winner of the tournament will pocket a record $1.2M in cash of which 75% will go towards a project identified by the school.
They will also receive a trophy and 25 replicas along with the prize money. The institutions placing second, third and fourth will each receive prize monies amounting to $750,000, $500,000 and $250,000, in cash respectively.
The second and third place teams will receive trophies and 25 silver and bronze medals respectively, while the fourth place team will receive a trophy.
As customary, the grand finale will be staged on January 1 at the Providence National Stadium. (Emmerson Campbell)
