TONIGHT, eight clubs will embark on a journey to revolutionise the way football is looked at in Guyana when the Stag Elite League gets on the way at the Leonora Track & Field and Football Facility. Alpha United, Slingerz FC, Monedderlust, Fruta Conquerors, Pele, Georgetown Football Cub (GFC), Buxton United and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) are the eight teams vying to cash-in on the league’s $15M prize.
“Outside of facilities, this (Stag Elite League) is the most important step for Guyana’s football, especially as it relates to the National Team,” said head coach of Guyana’s senior nation men’s football team, Jamaal Shabazz.
Shabazz’s Golden Jaguars were sent packing by St Vincent and the Grenadines from the FIFA 2016 World Cup Qualifiers and many are of the view that the Trinidadian head coach should look at rebuilding the nation’s beloved football team.
Bolton Wanderers’ midfield player Neil Danns, along with Matthew Briggs and several other overseas-based players turned out for the Golden Jaguars during their lead-up to and at the World Cup Qualifiers, sparking a call by many, after the team were knocked out of the competition, to have a strong locally based National Team.
However, Shabazz while addressing the media recently, pointed out that the Stag Elite League now provides “an opportunity for the local players to do just what he foreign-based players are doing; training in the week, competing week in, week out and I think this is so important”
The always candid Shabazz further added that support for the league by fans “would demonstrate to us and the whole nation, the people who really, really love football, because it starts with the clubs and it starts with the local competition and it filters out to the National team”.
“It’s important that we recognise this moment because everybody wants to see the final product, but this is the beginning of what they want to see, this is where we build the passion of the sport in the country,” said Shabazz.
Shabazz, who also owns Trinidad and Tobago Pro-League side Caledonia AIA, pointed that from a social standpoint, the Stag Elite League will generate economic activity and “all the spinoff of hosting an event will come with this league and I think we are going to have some exciting days – the players are going to be competing at a high level and the excitement that brings.”
The competition opens tonight with a double-header, starting from 18:00hrs with two of Guyana’s most storied clubs Pele and GFC going head-to-head.
After the opening encounter, the gala opening ceremony will take place, followed by the clash between local foot-balling giants Alpha United and Slingerz FC.

By Rawle Toney