HAVING joined forces with the Guyana Beach Football Association (GBFA) last November, when a team from Guyana journeyed to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) for a series of matches, beverage manufacturing giant Banks DIH, through their PowerAde brand, has partnered with the GBFA once again. This time, they are sponsoring a trio of matches between a Guyana Beach Football team and Bago Sports Beach Football Club (BSBFC) of T&T which got under way last night at the Christianburg ground.
At a simple presentation ceremony held in the boardroom of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) yesterday morning, president of the BSBFC, Kyle Lequay, said he is looking forward to the matches, since his team is a developmental one, just like his opponents and thanked GBFA for the opportunity.
“This is our first regional tournament, as this core group of players has been training together and we are using it as the stepping stone for further events in the year and I wish to thank the GBFA for giving us this opportunity to assist in stimulating the growth of the sport in the Caribbean.
“We will definitely be putting on a great show and while we cannot predict the outcome of the games, as it can all end in draws or even victory for either team, we are definitely looking forward to competing against the Guyanese counterparts, starting from tonight (last night).”
While thanking the GFF and Banks DIH for their tangible support in the goodwill series, Chief Coordinator of the GBFA, Rollins Tappin, said it will aid with the development of beach football here in Guyana.
“We were to be in Antigua last April, but the arrangements fell through and we opted to bring a team here to Guyana for a series of matches, hence BSBFC’s presence in Guyana today.
The series, while being competitive, will serve as a developmental one for both teams, for even though beach football is being played worldwide, it is not so popular in this part of the region and we are hoping to popularise the sport in the not-too-distant future.”
The visiting BSBFC team reads: Makan Hislop (captain), Victor Thomas and Lewis Forde (custodians), Shallum Bobb, Rodney Nelson, Jerome Dickinson, Chad Apoo, Stevon Stoute, Andre Reid, Gregory Simpson.
The management team consists of Dane Bernard (coach), Kyle Lequay (president) and Rionne Makoul (Public Relations Officer).
Apart from last night’s match which was preceded by several exhibition contests, the action continues tonight and tomorrow night from 18;00hrs at the same venue, with an admission fee of $500 for adults and $300 for children.