FOR THE past three years, Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United have been a dominant force on the local football scene, demolishing all and sundry in their path, with one hiccup – a loss to Buxton United in the 2012 Kashif and Shanghai Football Fiesta.

Just recently, they won the inaugural Slingerz Football Club/National Women Football Association-organised ‘Goals for Gold’ tournament and no doubt will be looking to add the Troy Cook Memorial Football tournament which was launched and is being sponsored by Ansa McAl’s Stag Beer brand yesterday.
Alpha, along with seven other teams, namely Western Tigers, Georgetown Football Club, Santos, Pele, Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Fruta Conquerors and host club Camptown, will be doing battle for a top prize of $500 000 when the action kicks off on Friday with a double-header at the Camptown ground.
Speaking at the launching, Public Relations Officer of Ansa McAl Limited, Darshanie Yusuf, said her company was pleased with the proposal put forward to them by the organisers, saying it was great in more ways than one.
“As you are aware, Ansa McAl has been for the past three weeks, actively involved in sports throughout Guyana, in the process fulfilling our duties as a corporate citizen.
“The proposal that was brought to us by the organisers of the upcoming tournament was not only a unique one, but a great one in more ways than one and we don’t wish to just help the sport, but the community in which the sport would be played in as well,” said Yusuf.
She cited the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) in Linden, which was resuscitated through the Ansa McAl/Stag ‘Crown Your Community Project’ and is now the second, fastest drying venue in Guyana, after the Guyana National Stadium, as well as the Beterverwagting Community Centre ground, whose rehabilitation is approaching culmination.
“We are hoping to see the continued growth and improvement of football by leaps and bounds in Guyana in a few years time, hopefully with Stag Beer by its side, while we wish the organisers all the best in this tournament which has the cream of the crop of football clubs within Georgetown, competing,” concluded Yusuf.
Stag Beer brand manager John Maikoo agreed with Yusuf. He said the brand was pleased to be associated with the tournament, challenging all eight teams to play the game fairly, adding that it was the first time the brand is being associated with a club that is affiliated to the Georgetown Football Association (GFA), who bestowed their blessings on the tournament.
Patron of the host club, Rudy Bishop, an overseas-based Guyanese, said they will be looking to resuscitate the other sporting activities that Camptown was once known by, apart from football, creating new rivalries among other clubs in Georgetown.
“We are trying to recapture that glory that was once affiliated to Camptown, who are known more for football these days, while back in the days we competed strongly against other clubs in such disciplines as boxing, athletics, table-tennis, just to name a few.
“With the help of the numerous overseas-based chapters of the club, we can revive the image and bring back the glory days that Camptown was once known for,” stated Bishop.
In giving a brief history of the late Cook, Bishop said the former stalwart of the club who was in possession of a permanent visa to the USA, exhibited true patriotism when he postponed his flight to the United States of America to compete in a Demico League final, after seeing Camptown going to that hurdle and failing to get past same on more than one occasion.
Subsequently for both Cook and Camptown, they won that final and shortly after he departed for the USA where he later succumbed and they saw it fit to honour his commitments through the tournament. The winners will have the distinct opportunity of keeping the championship trophy for good, once they can win the tournament on three occasions.
Meanwhile, the draw for Friday night’s double-header action was done after yesterday’s launch and pits GFC and Fruta Conquerors doing battle in the first game at 18:00hrs, with Santos and Pele clashing in the feature encounter two hours later.
The action will continue on Sunday with another double-header, this time with Western Tigers taking on Camptown in the opening fixture, followed by Alpha United versus Guyana Defence Force. The semifinals are set to kick off on Friday September 20 and the third place matchup and final two days later.
Riddim Squad have been identified as the alternate team, should one of the abovementioned clubs withdraw from the tournament for personal reasons, while the second- and third-placed finishers will pocket $200 000 and $100 000 respectively, with all cash prizes being accompanied by trophies.
In their bid to revive spectatorship of the sport, the organisers have charged an entrance fee of $500 with an added twist.
Should a spectator arrive at the venue with an outfit that carries the majority colour of any of the four teams playing on that night, he/she will automatically receive a $200 reduction charge on their admittance fee.