REGARDED as one of Guyana’s most gifted players, Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson and his long-time wingman Travis ‘Zorro’ Grant will be suiting up for Pele FC when the Stag Elite League kicks off on Friday at the Leonora Track & Field Football Facility.
Pele will face Georgetown Football Club (GFC) in the opening game at 18:00hrs, while Slingerz FC and Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United are set to collide in the night’s second encounter.
With $15M in prize money up for grabs, the eight participating teams are stocking their roster to ensure that they cash in heavily on the lucrative Guyana Football Federation (GFF) league.
Richardson and Grant returned to the club that brought them to prominence after playing with Alpha United last season.
Richardson, popularly known as Jackie Chan, became the first Guyanese to land a contract in the USA’s Major League Soccer (MLS) after securing a deal with the Colorado Rapids in 2009.
The deal came in a trade with Toronto FC where Richardson had spent a few weeks on tryouts. In exchange for the Guyanese striker, Colorado sent their natural second round 2010 Super Draft pick to Toronto FC.
Known for his ability to ‘smartly’ evade defenders, Richardson came to eminence during the CONCACAF Club Championship with his Trinidad and Tobago Pro-League club Joe Public when he devastated MLS top club New England Revolution scoring a hat-trick in his club’s 4-0 win. He also single-handedly ripped apart several other top clubs in the tournament.
Several international news agencies linked the striker with moves to New England Revolution and other top MLS clubs, including Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquake.
Richardson has featured on almost every national team for Guyana since first playing at the U-17 level. His first game at the international level was against the Netherlands Antilles when he netted a double in Curacao.
Grant, one of the top midfield players in Guyana, is better known for his accuracy and crafty style of play which has earned him a spot on the Golden Jaguars and player that was highly favoured by head coach Jamaal Shabazz, especially during the country’s historic 2014 World Cup Qualifier.