THE massive crowd that was in attendance over the three nights for the National Guinness Street tournament held in Georgetown is an indication of the success of the tournament. This was the view expressed by Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste while speaking to Chronicle Sport.

He said that they are pleased with the overall performance of all the teams pointing out that the games were very competitive an also of a high standard.
Baptiste said that the eight teams that represented the four districts in Guyana’s competition gave good accounts of themselves. He gave the assurance that his company will continue to lend support to the competition promising a more enhanced competition in 2014.
“What I can say is that come next year we will have a bigger and better tournament and fans are assured of this. We at Banks DIH intend to make this competition bigger thus catering for more areas when it is held next year,” he said.
Giving a background into the birth of the regional competition, the Brand Manager noted that the regional competition got started after several other countries saw the tournament which had its beginning in Guyana.
It was Guyana that started the street tournament and several other Caribbean islands saw it and fell in love with the idea. Guyana was the one that brought the idea forward and pushed for a regional competition,” he said.
The Guinness local boss disclosed that the rules for the regional and various countries’ competitions have been designed and conceptualised by Guyana adding that they are frequently contacted and sought for help and assistance in executing the various islands’ competitions.
“What you will see is that because we were the ones who started off the competition everybody is contacting and requesting out help in making their competition better and bigger. This being said means that we are looked at as the leaders in taking street football to another level,” he asserted.
Commenting on the regional competition Baptiste pointed out that the winning country in last year’s competition saw a concrete court constructed for the sole purpose of having five-a-side games. This, he stressed will be offered again to this year’s winner accompanied by cash and other incentives.
“There are a lot of attractive prizes that will be offered in this year’s competition so our guys have a lot to play for,” he said.
Quizzed on any possible changes in next year’s competition, Lee quickly noted that in his company’s continued efforts to lift the bar and standard of the competition locally a number of changes will be implemented so as to ensure that both fans and players are kept satisfied. As the support continues to grow rapidly, he noted that plans are being seriously looked at to providing an opportunity for at least two fans to watch the finals.
“We want to see the continued growth and development of the competition so we will be looking at several ways in raising the level of the competition.
“One such way would be seeking to provide an opportunity for at least two fans to accompany the team to watch the finals in whichever country that the competition will be held,” he said.
The Brand Manager said that the support of the 2013 edition of the local competition has been deemed as highly successful and this is because of the unified, collaborative work involving the police, Banks DIH security, organisers, players, management and fans.
“Everyone played a pivotal role in the success of this competition and it is with this in mind that I am hereby expressing sincere thanks and gratitude to all involved. The success of this competition is a demonstration of when everyone works together in the best interest of the sport,” he concluded.