WITH two days of action-packed football in store for fans, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) and veteran organizing team, Kashif and Shanghai, disclosed that all aspects are in place for the Bounce- Back tournament.

Peering deeper into the knockout format competition, which commences tonight at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, the four star-studded teams will be battling for the top prize, yet to be announced by the organisers. The teams lined up to battle are East Coast, Linden, Georgetown and West Demerara.

According to the Federation, the teams consist of current and potential Guyana Jaguars players.

Kicking off the double- header will be the Linden versus East Coast match, which is scheduled to begin at 17:00hrs (5:00pm), while the feature match between Georgetown and West Demerara gets underway at 19.00hrs.

The event will conclude on the first day of 2021, with the two victorious teams from the opening night clashing from 18.00hrs. No third-place match will be contested.

On Sunday, the organising committee met with representatives of each team and briefed them on this inaugural run and what is expected of them to stay safe while engaged in the event strickened by the pandemic. The drawing for the fixtures was also conducted.

What is of greater importance is that this tournament will be used as a yard stick to select the local contingent of players for the Golden Jaguars squad that is slated for action in less than 90 days. In November, CONCACAF confirmed the schedule for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, with the first round of matches commencing in March 2021.

The hosting of this tournament will also give the federation a chance to test the UEFA pandemic guidelines which have been implemented to allow the return of the sport during the outbreak.

Meanwhile, no spectator would be allowed to attend the matches since large gatherings are not permitted, in keeping with the pandemic guidelines. However, the final will be broadcasted live on New Year’s night, January 1st, 2021, via NCN Ch. 11, E-networks and the MCYS’s Facebook page.

<<Weather>>
The extremely wet season is still upon us with Accuweather forecast on both competition dates predicting scattered clouds and thunderstorms with a 50 per cent chance of rain.

Even though the event is to be contested on one of the fastest drying venues in the Caribbean, rain cannot affect the staging of a match unless the lightning factor arises. Only then a referee can suspend a match in his/her discretion, but only tournament organizers have the right to cancel or postpone matches.