GT&T at it again with launch of FastBall competition
FOLLOWING the successful organising of its second annual National 10/10 softball competition, telecommunication giant Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) last Friday night launched its first-ever FastBall/It’s Not Just Football nationwide competition at the Princess Hotel, Providence.
According to GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yog Mahadeo, the man behind the 10/10 tournament, the new initiative behind FastBall is to transform the sports industry in Guyana, calling it ‘Football with a twist”.
“The main aim here is to work with our partners and to ensure that from the villages, Guyanese can have cause to hope that they can come on a national platform. I have always had a vision and dream that we can have such activities that can bring people from the grassroots and make them part of Guyana and truly, this is one way that we want to do it,” stated Mahadeo.
He added, “Two years ago, we came up with the concept of 10/10 softball tournament that has attracted over 20 000 players and tens of thousands of spectators around the country and that in itself is an amazing feat.
“But even more, to my mind, was the fact that with the softball tournament, it created the art and support in the industry including the people who produce the craft and trophies and the memorabilia that we distribute to the crowd.
“It was always GT&T’s vision, aim and hopes to align our corporate vision with a national vision and it is our fervent hope that we can continue to contribute significantly to the development of the country as we have done for the past 20 years, hence the new concept of FastBall.”
Mahadeo told his audience that at no time was the GT&T 10/10 softball used as a means to gain revenue, but rather to reach out to the communities across the length and breadth of Guyana, especially when people think Georgetown alone is Guyana.
He said meetings were with the stakeholders involved for FastBall, including co-sponsor Banks DIH, Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) and the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), with regard to the organising of the nationwide tournament.
Also making brief remarks were president of the GFF, Colin Klass, and Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony, with both speakers applauding GT&T for another national effort in the field of sports, while Klass said the game was a combination of beach soccer, Futsal and 11-a-side football.
According to Klass, the GFF alone cannot take the sport of football to the level that it can reach but with the assistance and tangible commitment of corporate citizens like GT&T and Banks DIH and the Government of Guyana, such a goal can be realised.
“This tournament will transform the sport in Guyana; it will give players both male and female in non-traditional areas the opportunity of a lifetime to play in a tournament that can give them national recognition since there is no guarantee that a team from the traditional areas will win the big prize.”
Dr Anthony, in his remarks, applauded GT&T for a great initiative that transcends the realms of playing in the city and its close environs and posited that this tournament will forever change the sport in Guyana while attracting and showcasing untapped talent.
“To touch each Region with such a tournament is absolutely fantastic and this initiative fits into our (Sports Ministry) Sports Plan which seeks to embrace the schools and community. It’s a win-win situation for all. This tournament will also promote fitness and help players to stay healthy which is important. I want to also commend GT&T for ensuring that females are also participating and this is a big plus.”
The games will be played for 30 minutes   with half-time lasting for a maximum of seven minutes, and after 12 minutes of play in each half, a blue ball will be introduced into the game for the final three minutes, and any goal scored with the blue ball will be doubled.
If games which will have two strategic timeouts of 60 seconds per half available to both teams along with no half side rule are scoreless at the end of regulation time, penalty kicks will decide the winner with the opposing captain selecting the players to take the kicks.
There will be a blue card instead of the traditional red which when issued means that the offending player will miss his/her team’s next game, while at the same time, giving the opposing team a six-second penalty.
The trophy, which will be designed and done locally, will be unveiled in a few weeks time, with Mahadeo stating, “The whole thing here is about engendering, creating, and building local abilities and art.”
The tournament is set to kick off on Saturday July 2 throughout Guyana and will conclude with the grand finals (male and female) on Sunday, August 7, at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
Cash prizes, the CEO disclosed, amounts to $2M but this can be improved based on the response of teams during the registration period, as GT&T and the organising committee, that includes Kashif and Shanghai and Hits and Jams Organisations, are aiming to attract over 1 000 teams with the registration process set to kick off on June 23.