– $2M winner’s purse up for grabs

THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) teamed up with Ansa McAl trading Limited under their STAG Beer Brand, to launch their ‘Super 16’ Year-End tournament yesterday at the Green City Sports Bar.

With $4M in prize money up for grabs, all compliments of Ansa McAl, the tournament will be contested between eight of the ten Elite League Clubs (Fruta Conquerors, Milerock, GDF, Western Tigers, Victoria Kings, Buxton United, Ann’s Grove and Den Amstel FC), along with Rivers View from Bartica, Guyana Rush Saints from the Rupununi and a representative from Berbice and Essequibo.

According to Head of Competitions, Ian Alves, the three clubs from a play-off amongst the East Demerara Football Association (EDFA) champion, Soesdyke Falcons from the East Bank Football Association (EBFA), as well as two Georgetown Football Association (GFA) clubs, will also be involved. The play-off, Alves told reporters, will take place on November 30 and December 2.

While venues were not announced, Alves said the tournament will see matches being played on December 14, 16, 21, and 23 with the Group stage matches, while quarter-finals are set for December 25 and 26. Semi-Finals are tabled for December 29 and the finals on January 1, 2019.

The winner will pocket $1M, second place $1M, third place $500 000 and the fourth-place team will receive a trophy.

President of the GFF, Wayne Forde, speaking to Chronicle Sport, stated that “Ultimately, the public has been calling for a vibrant year-end tournament.

“We’ve stated in the early days of our administration that we’re going to consolidate year-end football; this is one step in doing that.

“We still have a lot of work to do in 2019, but ultimately our goal is to have a tournament that conveys the unity and the harmony that the football fraternity needs. We are drafting the regulation as we speak.”

Forde pointed out that “a large chunk of the proceeds, after we have covered our expenses, will go towards the members, so it’s all part of generating some revenues that will go back into the football.”

 Nigel Worrell, STAG Beer Brand representative, made it clear that the tournament is a partnership with his company and the GFF, telling reporters that STAG will be bringing never-before-seen fan activities where patrons will benefit directly from Ansa McAl.

Earlier this year, the GFF came under fire for the lengthy time taken to pay the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) their $2M first-place prize after they had defeated Grove Hi-Tech 2-0 in the finals on January 1, 2018.

Grove Hi-Tech, who along with Soesdyke Falcons, will be the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) representatives at the tournament this year, pocketed $1M for their second-place finish, while Fruta Conquerors and Milerock received $500,000 and $250,000 each for their third and fourth-place finish respectively.