Pele, Western Tigers & others receive prizes; tourney deemed a great success
FOLLOWING what has been described as a “great success”, the winner and other top performers of the inaugural GT&T FastBall knock-out football competition received their cash prizes for their performances throughout the tournament. Emerging as the only unbeaten team in the tournament which attracted 207 teams, the most for a single competition ever, Pele collected a cheque for a whopping $1M from Auditor of GT&T, Sachin Persaud, who congratulated the team for a job well done – brushing aside BK International Western Tigers 3-0 in the final.
The second prize of $500 000 went to BK International Western Tigers while the losing semi-finalists Bakewell Topp XX and Adam’s Rockers received $100 000 each.
The losing quarter-final teams each received $50 000 – Amelia’s Ward A, West Front Road, West Demerara United and Pioneers. All the teams in the final round-of-32 also received promotional credit.
In the female category four teams competed. The Trophy Stall All Stars line-up of Georgetown, who squeezed past Eagles United of Lethem 3-2 collected the first prize of $100 000 with $50 000 going to Eagles.
Winner of the dove-off competition Ronson Williams received a cheque for $500 000. Williams, the Senior Golden Jaguars goalkeeper, who is also the number one choice for National Club Champions Alpha United, was unbeatable on the night of the finals as he showcased his skills by doving over one thousand times; he was well rewarded for his effort.
Also cashing in were Venus Havercome ($9 000) and Deborah Alleyne ($4 000). They participated in the text to dove competition and received $1 000 for each dove.
Persaud, in brief remarks thanked all the teams for participating in the historic competition and making it a success. He also extended words of congratulations to all the officials and administrators for their support especially the residents of the various villages across Guyana who came out in their numbers to witness the competition matches as well as the awareness games.
“We at GT&T are very thankful to Guyana for the support given to this tournament, we are very satisfied that it achieved the aims we had set out which included reaching the grassroots players and giving them that opportunity to be able to play on the bigger stage and with the more accomplished teams.
“I must also say a big thank you to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport and his ministry, the Guyana Football Federation and our co-sponsors Banks DIH, Impressions and NCN for the roles they played in making the tournament a success.”
President (ag) of the Guyana Football Federation, Franklin Wilson, in brief remarks thanked GT&T for their investment that will go a long way in aiding the growth of the sport in Guyana noting that. Wilson also thanked the teams for making the competition a success.
Kashif Muhammad offered brief remarks, stating that his organisation felt it an honour and privilege to put together a tournament that is here to stay and grow even bigger for next year’s edition.
The tournament was the brainchild of GT&T CEO Mr Yog Mahadeo who also said that he was pleased with the way the tournament was administered by the Kashif & Shanghai Organisation with support from the Hits and Jams Entertainment Organisation, who were responsible for the cultural aspect of the tournament.