LAST year they fell short of lifting their second Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament. However, this year, Pele Football Club made an exciting start to claiming their second title with a 5-0 drubbing of Buxton Stars as the 23rd edition of the competition kicked off last Sunday at the GFC ground.

Led by their captain and prolific striker Gregory ‘Jacky Chan’ Richardson, Pele got the go ahead in the 4th minute thanks to Konata Manning and then in the 34th minute, Richardson converted the first of his two goals from the penalty spot.
The first half ended with Pele leading 2-0 but Richardson extended the lead in the 51st minute scoring from point-blank range after evading several defenders using his famous step overs.
Buxton United could not have withstood the pressure from a hungry Pele attack which resulted in an own goal being scored in the 66th minute. Two minutes later, Travis ‘Zorro’ Grant put the icing on the cake to ensure that his side go through to the next round.
The win for Pele means that they will play the winner between Uitvlugt United and Silver Shattas of Linden (December 23) on Christmas Day (December 25) at the BV/Triumph Community Centre ground.
Meanwhile, amidst much fanfare and a  fair-size crowd at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, the Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament was officially declared open by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony.
In addressing the 16 teams, Dr Anthony said that he hoped fair play and camaraderie exist throughout the course of the tournament while calling on the relevant authority to make sure that football returns to its normal state.
Minister Anthony was referring to the ongoing dispute between the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) and the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) where he said he as an open-door policy to sit with the two parties and bring a resolution to the problem.
Acting president of the GFF, Franklyn Wilson, thanked the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation for being the mainstay of local football and stated that his federation is looking forward to the return to normalcy of the game.
Co-Director of the Organistion, Kashif Muhammad, in giving his feature address thanked the players for being “able to make a distinction between tradition and things that emerge out of the blue.
“I welcome, too, the officials of the Guyana Football Federation and the various other organisations responsible for overseeing proceedings over the next too weeks. Last but not least I welcome our sponsors. The fact that you have stuck with us and supported us with increasing generosity as the years have gone by is testimony to the esteem in which you hold this event. We accept your gestures with considerable humility”.
“As the co-founder of an organisation that has done much for the furtherance of football in Guyana,” Muhammad said, “it would be remiss of me not to comment on the acute challenges confronting the game at this time.
Apart from the fact that our beloved Golden Jaguars are experiencing difficult times, we have recently had to cope with the resignation of Jamaal Shabazz, the former National Coach who has done much for the national team.”
He added: “Somehow, I cannot help but suspect that the ill-fortune that has befallen our football in recent times has had to do with the wider crisis that has afflicted the game. Guyana and the region are yet to recover from the after shock of what came to be known as the bin Hanman scandal.”
“Accordingly and without prejudice, we wish to call on the parties concerned to immediately pursue a mediatory option with a view to restoring a condition of normalcy in the shortest possible time.
The time has come, we believe, for the factions to set aside whatever they perceive to be the rights and wrongs of their feud and demonstrate to the rest of us that they are capable of rising to the challenge of putting the game first,” Muhammad making reference to the spat between the GFA and the GFF.
The 23rd Kashif and Shanghai football tournament will continue tomorrow at the  BV ground with the home side taking on Timehri Panthers and Winners Connection of Linden facing Buxton United in the feature game at 20:30hrs.