THE top achievers of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA)/Western Union Division One Tournament were yesterday rewarded for their efforts during the 2009 league.

Riddim Squad head coach Lloyd Millington accepts the winning trophy and cheque from Western Union’s Marketing Executive Natheeah King in the presence of the company’s Marketing Assistant Rhonda Hamilton. (Sonell Nelson photo)

Riddim Squad who played unbeaten throughout the competition received their first place cheque valued $150 000, while runners-up Santos collected $75 000.

Uprising and Houston Stars, who ended third and fourth, received $50 000 and $25 000 respectively.

All four teams also received trophies.

In brief remarks during the presentation ceremony yesterday at the Grace Kennedy Remittance Services (GKRS) head office, the company’s Marketing Executive Natheeah King congratulated the prizewinners and urged the others to showcase the discipline required for if they are to do better next year.

King said she is looking forward to next year’s tournament and while she did not mention directly if her company will sponsor next year’s league, she stated that the company got the kind of mileage it was looking forward to.

GFA president Troy Mendonca in a prepared statement expressed his association’s appreciation to Western Union for teaming up with them to sponsor the tournament.

He went on to state that it is the association’s goal to have football played in Georgetown at all levels and Western Union’s involvement has really filled the void at a time of need “since the first division competition is the competition used to graduate two teams to the Premier League, and over the years it has been a real struggle to run this tournament, especially among the top four teams.”

Mendonca noted that support from Western Union not only provided rivalry among players, but it assisted in keeping the country’s youths involved in an organised sport that assists in keeping them away from social ills that Guyanese are faced with daily and their (Western Union) support also aids in the overall development of football in Guyana and as such, the GFA is grateful.

He went on to state that the GFA would like to join in the condemnation of acts of violence at recent football matches and highlighted that this is not a problem faced only by Guyana, but it is a worldwide problem.

He used the opportunity to call on football administrators to use the opportunity provided by Western Union of having competitions played to implement principles upon which football is run, so that their team can grow from strength to strength.

In closing, Mendonca said while it might be a social responsibility for Western Union to give back to the public through sponsorship and donations, Guyanese must continue to support the services offered by the company so that they (Western Union) can continue to contribute to sports and other areas of concern.

The 2009 League commenced on May 24 and concluded on November 1 with Riddim Squad accumulating 33 points from their quota of 11 matches.

A total of 130 goals were scored in the competition, consisting of 108 in the preliminary stage and a further 22 in the ‘Super 4’ round.

In the preliminary stage, a total of 36 matches were played which included 14 walkovers, along with six matches in the `Super 4’. There were four drawn matches in the tournament.

The highest Goalscorer was Michael Pedro of Santos with eight goals to his credit. The Best Goalkeeper was Dorville Stewart of Riddim Squad while the Most Valuable Player was Sherwin Hope also of Riddim Squad.

By virtue of securing one yellow card and no red cards, Black Pearl and Kitty Rangers emerged as the Most Disciplined teams. (Michael DaSilva)