Amid much fanfare and expectations the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Beer Elite League was officially launched Saturday night at the 704 Sports Club on Albert and Lamaha Streets.
The inaugural event, which is expected to commence September 18th, will see eight teams from several associations across the country competing for honours and lucrative cash prizes.
The event is expected to last the duration of eight months.
The competing clubs are Alpha United, Bakewell Slingerz, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Pele FC, Georgetown Football Club (GFC), Monedderlust FC, Buxton United and Fruta Conquerors.
Each team will play 14 matches in a home-and-away format. The first round, which is dubbed League Genesis, will pit the top four finishers at the conclusion of the allotted games against each other in a single knockout format to decide the winner of the round.
The points leader will face off with the fourth placed side while the second positioned club will tackle the third positioned unit.
The eventual winner of the League Genesis round will walk away with $4,000,000 while the second, third and fourth place teams will collect $2,000,000, $1,000,000 and $500,000 respectively.
Similarly, the points leader prior to the knockout stage in the League Genesis round will pocket an additional $1,000,000. In the second round which is called the League Finale, the same method will be utilised with an elimination tourney between the top four deciding the victor.
The winner will also pocket $4,000,000 while the second, third and fourth place teams will collect $2,000,000, $1,000,000 and $500,000 correspondingly.
Identical to the first round, the points leader at the end of the League Finale allotted matches will pocket a further $1,000,000. In total, the prize monies for the event accumulates to $15,000,000, with a team possibly earning as much as $10,000,000.
Winner of the League Genesis and League Finale will then play in a single match to decide the actual season champion of the league. The eventual season champion will automatically earn the first berth to represent Guyana at the CFU level.
If the winner of the League Genesis and League Finale rounds are the same team, they will earn the automatic CFU spot while the team with the most accumulated points in both rounds non-inclusive of the eventual season champion will earn the second berth.
GFF Normalization Committee Chairman Clinton Urling while thanking all the stakeholders inclusive of the sponsors and players for their contribution in making the league a possibility, declared this is a defining moment for the federation and that the league will be the litmus test for the sport.
According to Urling, football cannot properly develop without the support of government and following meetings with the aforesaid stakeholder, he is confident of forming a strong relationship that can go a long way in charting a new path for the discipline locally.
He further said that it was important that the league is sustainable adding that all eyes will be fixed on the event.
Urling declared that that all stakeholders involved should work together to ensure that the tournament flourishes and thrives for years to come.
Ansa McAl Public Relations Officer (PRO) Darshanie Yussuf said that the Stag League is the first of its kind and that the company cannot express what it means to be a part of such a history making moment.
She added that the tournament is breaking new ground in the sport of football and that the entity is looking forward to see how the teams will progress over the course of the tournament.
Yussuf further said that the corporation appreciates the opportunity presented by the federation to be part of this novel event, while expressing good luck to all the competing teams in the championship.
Marketing Manager of Courts, Pernell Cummings, said that the company was proud to be a part of the inaugural tournament. He noted that they have been a part of football from the junior level and will now be playing their part at the senior level.
He further thanked the GFF for creating the initiative which he hopes will carry into improving the respective Golden Jaguar programmes and take Guyana where it should be which is on the international level.
Cummings further tasked the participating clubs to give back to the sport and build their respective fan-bases while noting that they should practice and ensure financial prudence to be able to properly sustain themselves in the league.
