GUEST player of Pele Football Club, Devon Millington, walked away with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, as the curtain came down on the 21st edition of the Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament with the presentation of prizes at the Sleep-in International Hotel Poolside last Friday night.
Champions of the tournament and reigning national club champions Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United walked away with a first place package valued at $7M, inclusive of a two-year kit sponsorship worth $5M from the United States-based Plus One Fashions, whose vice-president of Marketing and New Business, Donna Wilson, was on hand to assist with the presentation of prizes.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony who delivered the feature remarks, president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Colin Klass, Marketing Director of Ansa McAl Trading Troy Cadogan and Assistant PRO of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) Oscar Clarke.
Millington, who was a member of former champions BK International Western Tigers before internal ramblings saw him and some other key players part ways with the West Ruimveldt-based team, scored in every game Pele contested, even the final where they lost 3-2 to Alpha, to end with five goals, as he shared the top goalscorer with Alpha’s Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams.
For his worth as MVP, Millington received a voucher worth US$1 500 compliments of Plus One Fashions, one motorcycle donated by Beck’s Trading and a trophy from the USA-based duo of Dale Bascom and Gordon Trotz.
Alpha did not only walk away with the top prize which included $2M in cash compliments of Ansa McAl Trading, a lien trophy (Bascom and Trotz) and 26 replicas, but also dominated the individual awards.
They carted off the Most Outstanding Goalkeeper accolade which went to Ronson Williams, Most Outstanding Defender – captain Howard Lowe, Most Improved Player – Chris Camacho, Best Offensive Team for scoring a total of 15 goals and the Best Coach – Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover.
Second-placed Pele walked away with $1M, the compliments of GT&T, 26 silver medals and one-year kit sponsorship valued at US$10 000 with the kind compliments of Plus One Fashions.
For their victory over Bakewell Topp XX in the third place playoff, Sunburst Camptown who eliminated the defending champions in their quarterfinal encounter took home $500 000 and a trophy donated by New GPC Inc., 26 bronze medals and one set of uniforms from Dr Colin Watson of the USA.
Bakewell Topp XX, who can boast of being the most decorated team in the 21 years history of the tournament, received $250 000, a trophy and 10 footballs compliments of the K&S Organisation.
Fruta Conquerors won the Fair Play Team award and were presented with a trophy donated by the Honorable Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, while Pele’s skipper Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson was named MVP of the final.
Other individual awards went to Kayode McKinnon of Bakewell Topp XX who was named the Most Outstanding Midfielder; Sunburst Camptown’s Nigel Codrington received a trophy for scoring the Most Outstanding Goal.
Fruta Conquerors’ Vurlon Mills was voted the Most Disciplined Player while the Best Defensive Team award went to Pele whose custodian Shawn Johnson conceded three goals throughout the tournament, with all three being scored by Alpha in the final.