ACTION In the Thomas United/Winners Connection Football Club-organised Mashramani Cup has switched to the mining town of Linden, where all the remaining preliminary round and semifinal matches will be contested at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground. On February 26, Milerock and Winners Connection will do battle from 18:00hrs followed by Linden giants Topp XX taking on one of their nemeses, Amelia’s Ward United, from 20:00hrs.
East Coast Demerara champions Victoria Kings and Thomas United will face off from 18:00hrs with Pele meeting the winner of the Topp XX/Amelia’s Ward United matchup from 20:0hrs, with both matches set to take place on March 2.
BK International Western Tigers and Seawall United will go head-to-head on March 6, with kick-off time set for 18:00hrs while the second match on that date will pit Den Amstel against the winner of the Milerock/Winners Connection encounter at 20:00hrs.
The semifinals of the tournament which have over $1.2M at stake in cash and prizes will take place at the same venue on March 8, with the final and third place playoff kicking off three days later at the Georgetown Football Club ground.
Meanwhile, tournament director and president of Thomas United Football Club, Oliver Hinckson, said a number of former players, some of whom have been residing oversees, will be returning to don their club’s colours once again in this tournament.
Asked to name a few, he singled out the Barnwell siblings in Dion and Christopher, Suriname-based Jermaine Browne, Keith Goppy, Andrew ‘Docker’ Bright, Earl O’Neil Jr and Alton ‘Aji Man’ Fraser, while Anthony Stanton will appear as a guest player.
When asked to explain the lack of participation of the club in tournaments over the years, Hinckson said a number of factors including administration, politics and the large migration of players prevented same from occurring.
However, he noted that the present executives have proposed a new development programme which will see young players from the school system being given an opportunity through a scholarship programme, which will attract them to the second oldest football club in Guyana.
The tournament has attracted sponsorship from Ming’s Products and Services Limited, German’s Restaurant, Kashif and Shanghai Organisation (MS), Ram’s Pharmacy, Ray Imhoff and Alliance For Change Parliamentarian Catherine Hughes.