Beckford, Francis star as Elite League 2025 kicks off

The Guyana Football Federation’s National Training Center (NTC) at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) was treated to much pomp and splendour on Sunday night as the 7th edition of the Elite League got underway.
The grand opening ceremony featured a parade of the competition’s ten teams, during which GFF President Wayne Forde divulged the Federation’s vision for this 7th edition of the League.
“This is the 7th season of the Elite League and we have set ourselves three key objectives, the first being to improve the overall operations of the League and I’m almost sure you would’ve seen the evidence of that from the time you enter the venue and I must take this opportunity to thank His Excellency President Irfaan Ali for the tremendous support that he has given us over the past couple of weeks in improving the surroundings of the NTC,” Forde said in a bid of gratitude to the Head of State for recent enhancements at the Providence venue.

The GFF Boss continued, “Apart from improving the operations of the League, we also want to help our 10 Elite League clubs to professionalise their operations to acquire their CONCACAF Club license which will make them eligible to participate in Regional and International competition. This is a very key step that we need to take in our ongoing efforts to professionalise football in Guyana. It’s our goal that at the end of this season, everyone one of our clubs can celebrate the fact that they’ve acquired their CONCACAF Club license.”
“Finally, we want to make sure that we’re deliberate in the actions that we take to improve the overall fan experience. The Elite League is not just a tournament, it is a movement and every fan that comes out here must feel as though they are catered for.”

For the on- field action, Ann’s Grove United secured the first 3 points of the 2025 season, defeating newcomers Lake mainstay Goldstar 6-1.
As Ann’s Grove took some time to find their footing, Yohance Francis broke the ice between the 2 teams in the 20th minute. Jamal Tuesday then made it a 2-0 affair in Ann’s Grove’s favour, finding the back of the net in the 40th.
The East Coast outfit went into the half with the 2-0 advantage and upon resumption, Steve Francis (47th) extended their lead.
However, Lake Mainstay were able to pull one back through Robeno Kanhai, who will be credited with their first- ever Elite League goal in the 54th minute.
The consolation strike made no difference as Quincy Barry, Francis and Kemron Pelllew added one goal each in the 75th, 89th and 90th+3 minutes for the massive win.

The second game of the doubleheader saw a star-studded Slinger FC team being challenged by Monedderlust FC but still prevailing with a 4-1 win.
After several disallowed goals, Slingerz finally had their first through Kemar Beckford who capitalised on a loose ball in the box to send a volley shot into the nets in the 39th minute. Beckford went on to complete his hattrick in the 41st and 90th+3 minutes, while Jeremy Garrett struck in the 77th for Slingerz’ four.
Dawit Watts found Monedderlust’s consolation in the 60th minute.
This year’s Elite League will see 90 games being played over the next 6 months.
The action will continue this Saturday with Den Amstel taking on Lake Mainstay Goldstar at 18:30hrs while two- time defending champions Guyana Defence Force FC battles Western Tigers at 21:00hrs, at the same venue.