Dubbed the President’s National Futsal Championship by renowned coordinators Kashif and Shanghai, a nationwide rivalry in the sport’s most exciting format is brewing, as teams from almost every administrative region in Guyana would be converging in the capital city for the tournament’s kickoff, tentatively set for next week.
Like most Kashif and Shanghai tournaments of the past, the Futsal Championship will culminate on Wednesday, January 1st, 2025.
With 64 teams slated to compete, Co-Director of the K&S organisation, Kashif Muhammad, described the competing teams as he envisioned the competitiveness the tournament would witness.
Relating President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s intention to have as many teams as possible from around the country, Muhammad shared, during the tournament’s launch on Wednesday afternoon, “We have like 3 teams from Berbice that’s going to be here, six from the East Coast, four from East Bank, five from Linden, five from West Demerara, Essequibo All-Stars, Bartica All-Stars, Region 1 All- Stars, Region 7 All-Stars, Region 9 All-Stars and we have a couple of Spanish teams. So, we’re going to have 3 Spanish teams in the tournament, and then we’re going to be having 32 teams from Georgetown participating.”
Muhammad went on to justify “Why 32?”, saying it’s because Georgetown plays more Futsal than anywhere in the country, and some real outstanding teams are resident in Georgetown. “What is beautiful is that there is no team that gained the right to be just the number one, and that’s it; they got to play to win every time,” he explained.
The straight knockout tournament is set to get underway at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue with playing days being Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Though it will begin at the Mandela Avenue venue, Muhammad disclosed, there are plans for a grand final at the refurbished Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
“Minister Ramson okayed it because it’s almost completed, but he said he would make it available because a tournament like this, with this level of prestige, deserves a nice venue for the semifinals and finals. So, even though it’s not 100% complete, it’s going to be enough to play. The air-condition system is already in, and numerous places are there also for VIP sections and bar areas and everything,” Muhammad, as organizer, disclosed.
Female inclusion would also be a highlight of the tournament, as Muhammad revealed why it was decided to feature a mini women’s competition.
“Recently, I went to a Futsal championship, ‘Keep Your Five Alive’, and I saw a final between two female teams. It was real brilliant football, very, very similar to the guys. It was nice passes, beautiful tackles, nice dribbles, good shots to goal, aggression, everything. It was really beautiful, and we decided that we will have four teams in our tournament,” he declared.
“They will join from somewhere around the semifinal stage and go down to the final,” he added.
The men will be competing for a grand prize of $1.5M. for Second place would receive $1M, and $500,000 and $200,000 would be going to the respective third and fourth place finishers.
Teams in the women’s competition would be vying for $200,000, $100,000, $60,000 and $40,000 from first to fourth place respectively.
For the individual prizes, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the men’s competition would ride off with the customary motorcycle. However, the best goalkeeper, highest goal scorer, and any other individual award would see a twist, with the winners receiving $30,000 instead of just the usual trophy.
Another incentive for competing teams will see knocked out teams receiving $30,000 for most stages up until the quarterfinal. In addition, teams would be outfitted from the Round of 16.
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