THE Kashif and Shanghai organisation (K&S) made good on their prize offers for the recently concluded 20th annual Kashif and Shanghai Football Tournament, as they held the ceremony to officially present the various winners and outstanding performers with their accolades on Wednesday night at the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) headquarters in Campbellville.
Brentnol Bourne, Manager of the tournament champions B.K. International Western Tigers, said that his team winning the championship this year is the realisation of a dream that has been 15 years in the making.
This was the Western Tigers’ second encounter in a K&S final and they got it together enough to pull off the win this time around. Bourne said that it came as no surprise as the training was massive and all hands were on deck and working at their fullest capacity to get the team whipped into shape.
He stressed that it was even evident beforehand that victory would have been the outcome as the Tigers’ stepped over former champions to advance to the final and eventually claim the title. He acknowledged the Kashif and Shanghai organisation, the Guyana Football Federation, the Guyana Football Association and B.K. International who is the club’s main sponsor, for the part that they played to aid in the acquisition of their long-time dream.
Bourne even empathised with the other teams and encouraged them in saying that with discipline and hard work they too can rise to the top.
Mortimer Stewart, a representative of Banks DIH, who was recognised as an avid supporter whose sponsorship has stood the test of time, congratulated the organisers for successfully running the tournament for the 20th year.
Stewart, on behalf of his entity, pledged continued support for Kashif and Shanghai’s future endeavours and he encouraged the teams to continue their good sportsmanship, at the same time hailing the B.K. International Western Tigers for accomplishing such a feat.
President of the GFF, Colin Klass, extended warm congratulations to the champions. He also lauded the runners-up and all of the other teams for sticking to their guns and playing football to the best of their ability.
He made it clear that it is about how you play and how you take the outcome that will determine the kind of sportsman you are.
Klass also stressed the issue of discipline and its importance on the path to success. He also acknowledged Banks DIH for its resolute commitment of sponsorship towards one of the biggest events on the football calendar.
Kashif Muhammad in his brief remarks reflected upon the journey that the tournament has taken over the past 20 years. Muhammad pointed out that there has been nothing but improvement since the inception of the competition, in terms of discipline and the increase in number of the competitors.
He related that the tournament began with just two teams facing off as a part of a friendly rivalry between Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major and himself and has now grown and incorporated the best footballer in the world, King Pele, as part of the 20th edition, which was a history-making event for Guyana.
The individual awards presented on Wednesday night were: Best Defensive Side, won by the B.K. International Western Tigers; Best Offensive Side, won by Sunburst Camptown; Best Coach, claimed by Cornell Millington; and Colin Nelson walked away with the Most Improved Player award.
Seon Hope was adjudged the Most Promising Player while Collin Hercules claimed the prize for Most Spectacular Goal Scored. Joint winners for Leading Goalscorer were Telson McKinnon and Gregory Richardson, with four goals each.
Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Dellon Fraser, while Philbert Moffat won Most Outstanding Midfielder and Dereck Carter won Most Outstanding Goalkeeper.
Dwayne Ali was adjudged the Most Outstanding Over-all Contributor. Riddim Squad won the prize for Fair Play. Third Runner-up was Pele FC while Sunburst Camptown claimed the Second Runner-up position. Alpha United took the First Runners-up spot. The prize for Most Valuable Player was awarded to Dereck Carter.
