….kicks-off this Friday at GFC
A number of the country’s top footballers will be parading their skills in quest of the winners’ purse of G$1m when the annual Mayor’s Cup is staged in the month of March. This year’s Invitational KO competition is set to kick-off this coming Friday at the GFC ground, Bourda and according to chief organiser Lennox Arthur, the 16 participating teams are all eager to get on the field of play since the City has been starved of competitive football for quite a while.
The 16 teams vying for this year’s Championship will come from the Football Associations of Berbice, East Coast, West Demerara and Georgetown, including the country’s top club Alpha United.
The other invited teams are:  Pele FC, Riddim Squad, GDF, Conquerors FC, Camptown FC, Western Tigers, Beacon FC and Santos FC of Georgetown, Buxton United, Victoria Kings and BV Triumph of East Coast, New Amsterdam United and Mondderlust FC of Berbice and from West Demerara – SeaWall United and Den Amstel FC.
The full first round draw will see Riddim Squad and Den Amstel kicking off the tournament this Friday at 18:00hrs after which Pele will meet SeaWall in the second game of the double-header.
On Sunday March 6th GDF tackle Mondderlust in the opener and will be followed by Conquerors against NA United.
On Sunday March 13th, Camptown confront Buxton United in the first match and to follow Western Tigers clash with beacon.
The final two matches of the 1st round are set for Wednesday March 16th when Santos come up against Victoria Kings at 18:00hrs and in the final game Alpha will take on BV Triumph.
The quarter-finals will be played on Friday 18th and Sunday 20th of March, while the semis will take place on Wednesday 23rd. The Championship will climax on Sunday 25th at the National Stadium with the staging of the 3rd place play-off and the grand finale.
The losing finalist will earn $500,000, 3rd place $200,000 and 4th $100,000, in addition to Trophies and Prizes that will be up for grabs over the 16-match schedule.
Matches will be of ninety minutes duration for regulation time and if there is a stalemate at the end then there will be two equal halves of ten minutes each in extra time and should still be a tie then Penalty Kicks will be used to determine the winner.
Among the stars expected to be on show are Canada-based Konatta Manning who will spearhead Pele’s challenge along with Stellon David, Marvin Joseph, Solomon Austin and captain Travis Grant.
The star-studded Alpha side is expected to be at full strength since they will be preparing for the CFU club championship to be played next month.
Among the line-up will be national Footballer of the Year – goalkeeper Ronson Williams as well as fellow nationals Dwain Jacobs, Dwight Peters, Anthony Harding, Anthony Abrams and national captain Howard Lowe.
Arthur also indicated that he is awaiting the usual positive response and support of the Government in making this year’s Tournament a truly successful one.