AFTER months of enormous sacrifices and hectic and keen rivalry from 207 male teams from across all regions of Guyana, the battle for GT&T FastBall supremacy and the coveted $1 million boils down to four teams, two each from Georgetown and Linden, the major traditional football producing areas of the country. The newly-inaugurated hybrid version of the world’s most popular sport has caught the fancy of thousands following strategic planning and diligent efforts of the GT&T FastBall Tournament and Organising Committee members, comprising dedicated officials from Kashif and Shanghai Promotions and Hits & Jams Entertainment.
This impressive tournament has been the collaborated synergies of K&S Promotions and H&J Entertainment, GT&T Coordinating Committee and Guyana Football Referees Association who were well supported through media promotional activities, coordinated by the GT&T staff members and Impressions Agency.
Major Guyana Media establishments and their dedicated personnel also played a significant role in generating tremendous interest and highlighting the progress of the tournament that can be deemed an unqualified success on many fronts.
The major goals envisioned by GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer Yog Mahadeo, who challenged officials of Kashif & Shanghai Promotions and Hits & Jams Entertainment to formulate rules and regulations to create a fast-flowing uninterrupted and entertaining game, have been achieved.
It was heartening to learn that many new teams from various rural communities were engaged in fierce and intense battles to reach the semi-finals. Their outstanding showing in the competition augurs well for the future as many budding stars will shine and bring honour and glory to their villages and districts.
Some of those rural teams which made it to the ‘Super 16’ and quarter-final stages might consider themselves unfortunate not to be able to create real upsets and be guaranteed the wonderful opportunity of vying for a place in the grand finale scheduled for today at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
Fans will be treated to six high-quality matches – four semi-final encounters (two male and two female teams) while the respective winners will clash to determine the historic winners of the newest nationwide competition that promises to create something special for the Caribbean region and beyond.
Sports lovers and even those who wish to be part of the history-making event are definitely in for a spectacular treat as the action gets under way at 15:00hrs.
Playing before an enthusiastic crowd at the Georgetown Football Club, headquarters for the game in the capital city, on Friday night; Adams Rockers from Linden was the first team to quality for the semi-finals.
The Wismar-based team overpowered their West Demerara United counterparts by a 4-0 margin with goals from Colvin David, Ralston Fraser and Darrel George.
David scored in the 8th minute, Fraser in the 19th while George’s 29th-minute strike with the BlueBall counted for two.
The BlueBall concept has been included as part of the innovation to generate real excitement and from what was seen, it unquestionably brought out the desired effect from players on both teams who lifted their intensity so as to capitalise on the psychological and numerical advantage with the double score registered for their respective teams.
The BlueBall magic was seen in the closely-contested second semi-final when Topp XX, another Wismar-based team, edged out Amelia’s Ward by a 3-0 margin.
Ken Sears blasted home in the 28th minute of the 30-minute-a-side contest and sent the Topp XX team and their supporters into frenzy as they instantaneously knew that their opponents had to score twice in the remaining two minutes of regulation playing time to turn around the fortunes.
Any lingering thoughts or hopes of levelling the scores and forcing a come-from-behind victory for Amelia’s Ward were soon dashed when Lloyd Gilbert found the ‘Onion Bag’ network within a minute of the BlueBall strike to make it a 3-0 advantage.
The hundreds of fans who travelled from the bauxite town were in their glee as they celebrated two teams from their area in the semis while another red-hot favourite, Pioneers from the Upper Demerara River area showed their class in the third quarter-finals against Western Tigers.
This was a very tense battle with Pioneers enjoying the better of the exchanges and were much more impressive and dangerous in their build-ups until Jerrel Tyrell changed the whole complexion of the match. He netted with the BlueBall in the 13th minute for a 2-0 advantage for the Western Tigers at the half-time interval.
Despite spirited efforts of both teams, the score line remained unchanged and the Georgetown-based Tigers and their supporters roared a sigh of relief when the final whistle was blown.
The final quarter was a ding-dong tussle between two Georgetown teams. Pre-tournament favourites Pele Gold and newcomer West Front Road, who proved  very tough nuts to crack in an extremely-exciting affair that brought back nostalgia of the older generation of the soccer wizardry from some of Guyana’s top-notch stalwarts during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s eras.
West Front Road matched their more established counterparts with skilful and brilliant tactical build-ups but were let down by poor finishing touches from over-enthusiastic players whose brand of football will make them dangerous opponents in the future.
In the end and to the relief of Pele Gold supporters, Kerwyn Benjamin showed why they cannot be taken lightly by anyone as he weaved his way through a bunch of tight markers and rifled home a bullet in the 28th minute.
It was another Blueball magic that did the trick and Pele Gold will match Topp XX in the second semis today. Adams Rockers and Western Tigers will clash in the first semi-final.    
I had mentioned in my previous article which appeared Friday last, that this competition reminds me of the Pele Football Club, under former national coach Lennox ‘Mullin Scar’ Arthur in 1971, which was followed by the launch of the Inter-Ward Football League by football livewire Harold ‘Lightweight’ Kissoon in the seventies.’
Arthur created a new brand of football similar to the ‘samba flair’ patterned after the legendary Brazilian team of the sixties and seventies. And he was able to inspire his players to develop their overall technical skills which thrilled thousands at GFC. They emerged as the most attractive team and had tremendous following.
I really admired the tremendous work ethic and discipline instilled by Arthur among his players and the vision he created for them. They bought into his overall vision for the development of the game in Guyana and the club emerged as one of the country’s greatest – if not greatest – football entities in the last forty years.
I vividly recalled the exploits and pleasure of watching Ashton Arthur, Terrence Archer, Gordon ‘Ultimate Warrior’ Braithwaite, Monty Wilson, Orin ‘Tinin’ Fanfair, Lloyd Enmore, Eric Smith, Keith ‘Bumpy’ Layne, Patrick ‘Laba’ Barton, Colin ‘Oiler’ Watson, Ivor Carrington and Clyde ‘Farmer’ Brown do magical stuff and mesmerised the opponents with skilful and strategic formations.
They built a reputation for attractive exciting football and most of the players from Pele FC advanced to the Guyana national teams and made a significant impact with their brand and flair of football.
On another positive note, ‘Lightweight’ Kissoon was the most dynamic organising force in Georgetown and the Inter-Ward competition brought out more clubs which became established entities and helped produce many other outstanding national players.
Kissoon was a no-nonsense official and did not encourage any slackness or disrespect for the rules, regulations, players, officials and sponsors. And it was his visionary ideas and drive that brought forth other famous teams like Camptown United and Western Tigers.
I foresee a similar trend evolving with the GT&T FastBall Competition whereby many new teams are to be encouraged to form themselves into clubs for the long-term development of the game in the country.
But there is a major difference between the Inter-Ward competition and the GT&T FastBall tournament.
While the Inter-Ward competition was confined to the Georgetown Municipality and its immediate environs, this new GT&T FastBall competition caters for the whole country and will motivate many budding
stars, especially from the rural areas, to aim for national success and recognition.