… Government assists with $3M
NATIONAL Club champions Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United will from Monday May 23 to Saturday May 28, host three other teams as the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championships at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
According to president of the club Odinga Lumumba, the overhead cost to accommodate the three clubs, namely Tempete from Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) and Puerto Rico Islanders who are the defending champions, is high hence the Government of Guyana has agreed to chip in with $3M.
The draw for this final round was made on Monday and will see the defending champions oppose Alpha United in one match, while Tempete and TTDF will do battle in the other match on May 25.
The winners of the respective matches will clash in the final while the two losing teams will do battle for third place on May 27, with the top three teams advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League which kicks off in July of this year.
Lumumba said the CONCACAF Champions League tournament was the target his team was aiming for, since it’s the highest level of football for Guyana after the FIFA World Cup and he is confident his team will qualify to represent Guyana in same.
“This is what we have been fighting for, for a number of years and with that in mind, we will be playing against the national team (last night) and a Linden All Star on Friday (tomorrow night) at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground and I think my team is up to the task.
With regard to hosting of the teams, the Government of Guyana has extended a friendly arm by donating $3M towards this venture, while CFU will be assisting us with some financial help, of which we are in no position to say how much at this moment,” said Lumumba.
He continued, “Once Alpha qualify to play for the Champions League we will see ESPN coming to Guyana and carrying a live video feed of the matches across the globe, which means that we at Alpha have the onus of taking football to a level that can be compared with cricket, in terms of live broadcasting out of Guyana.”
He further said the club’s vice-president Steve Ninvalle and its assistant coach Gavin Browne will be attending a CONCACAF Summit in Miami, Florida, next Monday and Tuesday, with regard to the draw for the Champions League.
Quizzed on whether his technical staff is aware of the tactics that may be employed by the other three teams, Lumumba said they were in Suriname where they saw the Puerto Ricans play, while they have played the Haitian club before and saw TTDF in operation recently against Milerock of Linden.
“Yes, I can say we are familiar with all the teams and have a fair idea of what they will be bringing to the table. At the moment, the team was encamped from Tuesday and will be there until May 28.
“We are leaving no stones unturned in our bid to not only capture the CFU Club Championships, but also become the first team to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League and with this upcoming engagements being an enormous one for football in Guyana, I am asking the football public to come out and give us their support,” stated Lumumba.
The first leg of the home and away tie of the CONCACAF Champions League will kick off July 26 to 28, with the second leg taking place from August 2 to 4.
The first and second group stage matches will take place from August 16 to 18 and 23 to 25 respectively, with the third, fourth, fifth and sixth group stages from September 13 to 15, 20 to 22 and 27 to 29 and October 18 to 20 this year, respectively.
The first leg of the quarter-finals will take place next March 6 to 8, with the second leg kicking off from March 13 to 15, and the first semifinal also taking place March 27 to 29, 2012.
April 3 to 5, 2012, is the period set aside for the second leg of the semi-finals, with the respective winners clashing in the final that will be played on a home-and-away basis April 17 to 19 and 24 to 26, 2012 respectively.