STAG ELITE LEAGUE (SEASON 2) RESTARTS THIS SUNDAY
– Intense Preparations underway as development of a football brand takes centre stage
16th March, 2017; Georgetown: The second half of Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) premiere league – Stag Elite League (Season 2) – is scheduled for Sunday, 19th March, 2017 at the Guyana Defence Force Ground, Georgetown.
The double-header will feature Top XX vs Fruta Conquerors FC and Victoria Kings vs GDF FC, and is scheduled for 16:00hrs and 18:00hrs respectively.
Denzil Thompson, who has recently joined Victoria Kings as Head Coach, is optimistic about his team’s chances in the second half: “The second round is very important. They (Victoria Kings FC) brought third in the first round; they’re preparing at a very intense level to come out more successful than just being the third team, but to be the first or second place team for the second round.”
The team, which is a first-time entrant into the Stag Elite League and trains thrice a week, is evolving, Coach Thompson noted: “I think it’s time we have a brand of football. It’s not just about winning; it’s about development, we need a project. When you have a project, you can market the project because of the brand you have. I’m very much interested in coaching a brand at Victoria Kings so when you see Victoria Kings play, they will be playing a brand… you’ll see a different way in their style of play come this second round.”
Meanwhile Fruta Conquerors FC, who placed second in the League Leaders tournament, is also developing their brand of football and are ready for the second half: “We bring a very good mixture of youth and experience. Youth with extremely extensive talent that need to be tapped into not just for Fruta Conquerors but for the country,” said Head Coach Sampson Gilbert: “The fact that we have talented youths that need the exposure is a new horizon for the club and the League itself. I’m looking forward to actually see the players develop over a period of time. There’s no doubt our eyes are still set on winning the league in this half.”
Top XX gave a good representation of themselves in Season One of the League and hope to improve their standing. However, Head Coach Michael Mc Kinnon said his team has had some challenges in their pre-season preparations: “We practice daily but have not been able to access the ground of our choice for training. We have had to resort to an alternate ground which is not conducive to the standard we require.” He added, “we’re looking to come off from the bottom of the table and perform better but while our hopes are high, it’s left up to the players to perform on the field.”
Winners of the League Leaders tournament, GDF FC, is set on remaining as the number one team of the League. Coach Bilaal Nantambo said the “objective for the next half of the League is exactly the same – to win. If we can perform as well as we did in the first half, then we’ll have the same expectation of not losing a game.” He noted however that “football is played on that day on the field so you can expect a fight every game but we are prepared. We’re hoping to make a slight change in our formation…but all in all we are confident we can end as winners of the League and I trust that we achieve that.”
The prize money of the league is as follows:
1st Prize – Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00)
2nd Prize – Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00)
3rd Prize – Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00)
4th Prize – One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00)
Patrons will be given a chance to win fabulous prizes at every game including family meals compliments of Church’s Chicken, jerseys / caps compliments of Jialing, Impressions and the Guyana Football Federation, and cash vouchers and Gilette hampers compliments of Ansa Mc Al. The grand patron prize will be a JIALING 250cc motorcycle compliments of Automobile Power Products. Admission to each game is GYD$500.00
For more information, please contact:
Debra Francis (Ms.)
Communications and Public Relations Officer
Tel: 592 227 8758 ext. 105 (o)