Alpha to host River Plate but no word on uniform sponsorship from Plus One
REIGNING national and Kashif and Shanghai champions Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United will host and oppose Puerto Rico’s River Plate in their second round match of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championships at the Guyana National Stadium and Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) grounds.
River Plate, having lost their home game to the Guyanese, are expected to arrive in Guyana next Tuesday for the matchup and anxious Alpha’s fans would be looking to see their team in their new gear, as was promised by the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation (K&S) through Plus One Sports but they would be disappointed.
According to president of Alpha and Presidential Adviser on Youth Empowerment, Odinga Lumumba, who addressed a press briefing held at Waterchris Hotel yesterday, his club has not received one cent from the package which came as a part of their winner’s purse after they won their second K&S title on January 1 of this year.
“First of all, I am happy to say that Alpha United will be representing Guyana in the CFU championships, where we will be engaging River Plate who hails from Argentina, but will be playing out of Puerto Rico in a home and away fixture.
The matches will be played at the Guyana National Stadium on the 15th and the GCC ground on April 17, from 20:00 h and 16:00 h respectively. Once we are successful and go on to win the CFU Club Championships or even finish among the top four, we will go on to play the CONCACAF Club Championships, with a view of contesting the FIFA Club Championships later.”
He continued, “We expect the two matches to be tough fixtures and having played them before, we know what to expect and having the distinct opportunity of home advantage, since they conceded their home match to us, I am confident my team which drew a bye into the second round after our Antiguan opponents withdrew, will come out on top.”
Quizzed on his team’s preparation for the matches, Lumumba said it was same as any other preparation, which has been ongoing since his team won the K&S title, despite the minor problems.
“We have given a lot of thought into these two matches, hence our preparation has been intense. We have better and more sincere players who have condition and know what needs to be done.
“We still have some weaknesses, but those are reflected nationwide, where there is a shortage of centre backs, as, apart from Howard Lowe and Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard, there are no formidable centre backs around, but we will be taking on River Plate and giving it our all,” stated Lumumba.
Lumumba said the cost for his club to offset expenses and take care of River Plate would be in the vicinity of G$7M, with the Government of Guyana donating G$2M.
“They give us the opportunity to host our away game against them, which made things easier for us, since it would have been close to US$1 200 for us to get one player to Puerto Rico and in exchange for us hosting our away game to them, we have to assist with their transportation along with accommodation and meals,” said Lumumba.
“With regard to the sponsorship that was promised from the dynamic K&S Organisation, Lumumba said he would be taking legal action in the coming week, since the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) asked for some time and such has expired.
“We have not received one penny from the promised sum of the first prize gear sponsorship from the USA-based company and tomorrow (today) Mark Phillips will be going up to the USA to hire an investigator who will investigate the legitimacy of this company.
“I am taking these steps on the advice of a Congressman who is a dear friend of mine, since my calls and emails have gone unanswered and if we cannot locate the company, then the United States Department of Compliance will receive a legal letter from us.”