The 2025 edition of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) annual East Bank/Soesdyke/Timehri Cluster/Inter Village 7-A-Side knock-out football championship came to a pulsating end on Sunday night at the President’s Youth Choice Ground, Kuru Kururu, Linden-Soesdyke Highway.
Two days of exciting rivalry among the 24-teams that competed, the largest number of teams in the history of the tournament to date, came to an end under the newly-installed lights at the facility, the first for the Highway under the Government’s ground enhancement programme.
Team Soesdyke and Spaniards of Diamond earned the right to contest the championship match after winning all their games. Having earned an automatic berth to the final by virtue of ending the second and third round with the most goals (4), Spaniards faced a Team Soesdyke side that needled Airport Ballers in their qualifying game and had finished one goal behind Spaniards.
The final lived up to expectations, both teams playing hard as they knew they were a single step away from the winning purse of $700,000. Regulation time of 20 minutes failed to separate the two sides as neither was able to score.
Ensuing kicks from the penalty mark was also very competitive. After the first five, the score was locked at 1-1, Spaniards scoring their second while Team Soesdyke converted their fourth. Sudden-death penalty kicks were the deciding factor. Spaniards missed both of their attempts; Team Soesdyke also missed their first but converted the second which was good enough for the win and first-place cash prize. Spaniards walked away with $500,000 for their efforts.
