THE Bartica Football Association (BFA), in partnership with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), will host an Independence Cup Championship from May 13 to 26 at the Bartica Secondary School ground.

The two-week tournament follows a meeting hosted by GFF president Wayne Forde on Saturday, May 5, in the community and will be coordinated by a five-man team comprising Sherwin Da Silva, Elwes Jones, Curtis Joseph, Kenneth Edwards and Alden Marslowe.

The meeting also resulted in the establishment of a ‘Resuscitation Working Group’ consisting of nine persons.

In an invited comment, Marslowe said the tournament is geared to “accelerate the revival of the sport in Bartica and is also a prelude to the work of the new Executive Committee, since the tournament will conclude on the 26th when elections are scheduled and the new executive body will be elected to carry on the initiative.”

The championship will feature senior footballers from eight clubs – Beacons, Rising Stars, Mil Ballers, Lazio, Potaro Strikers, River’s View, Wolves United and Byderabo Strikers – and will be played in two round-robin groups with two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals after the first round.

An opening ceremony is planned for today 13:30hrs, followed by the opening matches featuring Beacons FC vs Mil Ballers FC at 14:00hrs, and Rising Stars FC vs Lazio FC at 16:00hrs.

President Forde is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony and declare the tournament open.