… Tourney kicks off today with double-header

AFTER a three-year lapse of not having year-end football played in their community, Lindeners will this year have the opportunity to be entertained by what is expected to be an intriguing football tournament, sponsored by beverage giant Banks DIH Limited.The tournament, which is being organised by the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA), will kick-off today with a double- header at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground and will involve 14 teams. The winning team will receive $1M.
UDFA’s president Sharma Solomon in an e-mail said “Year-end football is back in Linden.”
The final of the 14-team tournament (all Linden clubs) will be played on January 1, 2014.
According to sources, in what seemingly sums up to be Banks DIH’s outbidding arch rivals Ansa McAl Trading, the UDFA has decided that it will stage a Christmas football championship and that the people of Linden will, after a three-year lapse, see football on New Year’s Day come January 1.
The Christmas football championship starts this evening with South Amelia’s Ward taking on Blueberry Hill at 18.00hrs and Eagles tackling Coomacka from 20.00hrs.
Speaking to Solomon, this newspaper was told: “Year-end football is back in Linden and the fact is even at present with the Guyana Football Federation Premier League games being played in the worst of conditions,
According to the source, the people of Linden continue to show a determined support for the sport. “There has always been that passion for football in Linden and I think this year end is no different, They would have expected after being cultured for eighteen years to have a massive football tournament at the end of the year and this programme, which is being done in collaboration with Banks DIH with over $6.5M being injected into the sport, is going to provide an opportunity to culture themselves with that expectation of year-end football,” the source stated.
According to the source, Solomon said the community in itself would have had a three-year hiatus of that type of excitement and the people have always been longing for this which they have nurture d and built. He maintained that the January 1 has been a date established in Linden.
He remarked when asked if they may have snubbed Ansa McAl Trading in anyway, the UDFA boss replied “Never the case. We have always had at the level of the association the approach to sponsors.
“In fact, we had made several approaches to many sponsors and we have had engagement with many sponsors and we submitted those proposals and we have had responses coming from sponsors and it is in those responses we would have always had our offers made to companies and we were engaged by two companies for end of the year to promote a year-end programme. This initiative wasn’t exclusive to any one company.”
Solomon explained that “In that light we submitted similar and identical proposals to two companies who had shown their expressions of interest.
“We further submitted not just a proposal but a menu of items that we would have wanted companies to support – the general development of football – and one company accepted that entire menu while another company was prepared to only deal with one aspect of the proposal which is the year-end. One company was looking to have partnered with just a 50 per cent sharing situation.
“So the association made a decision that was first in the interest of the association and the general development of football with having that menu accepted and then in any interest of business to what the association stands to benefit a pure sponsorship where you have the ability to have revenues coming in to the association exclusively to the association.
“I don’t think it was difficult for the association to make a decision which would benefit football in general.”
From all appearances the Banks DIH deal catered also for the association to have all the profits and a package for future sponsorship by the beverage company Banks DIH.