Mayor Green launches 20th football tournament

By Avenash Ramzan –

Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green said he’s confident the 20th annual Mayor’s Cup football tournament will serve to unite persons of all backgrounds when it kicks off this Friday. The mayor made the comment during the launch of the competition at City Hall in Georgetown on Tuesday morning in the presence of representatives of some of the participating teams.
According to Green, the tournament started with only Georgetown-based teams, but has since grown to accommodate clubs from the rural areas. This, he said, has served to bring persons together over the years and he expects nothing different in the 2013 edition of the tournament.

The mayor reflected that football was played more in the urban areas in the past, but with the passage of time and more teams springing up in the rural communities, this serves as a means of bridging the gap by bringing people of different races, cultures and ideologies together.
During his message to the team representatives, Green also used the opportunity to call on the business community and the government to continue to support football, since there are tremendous talents, who, if given the right training and financial backing can make it to the top.
He also said the Mayor’s Cup organising committee will be doing its part to nurture young talents by targeting football development in schools. While he did not divulge how they plan to incorporate their programme into the schools, Green said it is imperative that students are taught the fundamentals of the game from an early age.
The 20-team tournament will see Uitvlugt, Police, Den Amstel, Riddim Squad, Bakewell Buxton, Santos, BV/ Triumph United, GFC, Stewartville, GDF, Slingerz FC, Northern Rangers, Sunburst Camptown, Golden Grove, Fruta Conquerors, Mahaica FC, Alpha United, Pele, Seawall FC and BK International Western Tigers battling for a top prize of one million Guyana dollars. The runner-up will pocket Gy$ 500,000, third Gy$ 300,000 and fourth Gy$ 200,000.
On Friday, Police will look to arrest Uitvlugt in the opening game of the competition at 18: 30 hours, with hosts Den Amstel playing Riddim Squad in the feature game at 20: 30 hours.
The following day the action switches to the Beterverwagting ground on the East Coast of Demerara with Bakewell Buxton tackling Santos at 18: 30 hours and the feature game pitting homesters BV/ Triumph United against city side Georgetown Football Club at 20: 30 hours.
More games are slated for Sunday, and this time the venue will be the Den Amstel ground, where another double-header will be hosted. Stewartville FC will lock horns with Guyana Defence Force at 18: 30 hours and Guyana’s newest football club, Slingerz FC, will tackle Northern Rangers at 20: 30 hours.
The tournament, which is held every year to celebrate Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Greene’s birthday, has received corporate support from MACORP, Nasar Mohamed, Guyana Beverages Inc, Two Brother’s Gas Station, Genequip, Bakewell, Beepat’s Trading, Crown Mining Supplies, Guyana Lottery Company and CIDI. It is being organised by former national player, Lennox Arthur.