… Guyana to host Regional tournament this year
BEVERAGE manufacturing giant Banks DIH Limited for the second year and under their Guinness Stout brand launched the second Linden Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ football competition at the Egbert Benjamin Educational and Conference Centre in Mackenzie. Sales and Marketing Executive of Banks DIH Carlton Joao also told his audience, which included Regional Chairman of Region 10 Solomon Sharma, that the dream of having a Regional Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ competition is being made a reality, with Guyana set to host eight other countries this year.
However, according to organiser of the Linden tournament Caeron Sealy, the first tournament, which was held in 2010 and saw Eagles Football Club of Christianburg come out as winners over Retrievers, was a success and he is looking forward to this year’s tournament.
“This is the second year, that Banks DIH through their Guinness brand has sponsored this tournament and we at Linden are privileged to be associated with the sponsor once again to host this event in our community,” said Sealy.
He said the tournament, which is more popularly known as street football, is clearly ranked as one of the biggest sporting events throughout the length and breadth of Guyana, after being born from the womb of the sponsor, with the initiative of giving back to the communities of the country.
“This tournament will provide the opportunities for young people, challenging them in a positive way while providing entertaining and economic activities that they bring to the different communities with the aim of creating friendship among footballers from the same communities.
This much-talked-about tournament has been welcomed by Linden for its high level of entertainment, along with the magnitude of sponsorship from Banks DIH, creating economic opportunities among others, for which we welcome the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ to Linden once again.”
In his brief remarks, Joao thanked the mining town for their overwhelming support of the last tournament, saying how much he is looking forward to the same warmth and support for this year’s edition.
“We are looking forward to the hosting of another successful tournament here in Linden, while we will be ensuring an economic spin-off in the communities, as that has been fantastic in Linden, judging from the last tournament and we are proud of the quality and quantity of support from you guys.”
Speaking briefly on the upcoming Regional tournament, Joao said teams representing eight Caribbean countries such as Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, St Vincent and St Lucia just to name a few, will converge on Guyana during the middle of this year to battle for supremacy.
“This tournament has grown tremendously, due to the wonderful support shown and given from the Guyanese in communities where matches are being played, whether it is Georgetown or Linden and for that we say heartfelt thanks, as we look forward to another successful staging of the tournament in Linden this year,” stated Joao.
Meanwhile, 31 other teams will battle the defending champions for this year’s top prize of $500 000 and a trophy, with the second-, third- and fourth-placed teams receiving $250 000, $150 000 and $100 000 respectively. The tournament is being held simultaneously with the Linden Town Day activities.
Individual prizes will also be distributed to the Highest Goalscorer and the Most Valuable Player, while all the teams who have registered to compete will be presented with a hamper, as was done in the 2010 tournament.
The action will see matches at the Wisroc/Amelia’s Ward Bus Park, Silver City and Silver City Secondary School hard courts and the Amelia’s Ward hard court, with the first named venue hosting the opening match on Sunday, April 1 and the final on Saturday, May 5.