GFF’s 6th Elite League Promotional Playoff: Monedderlust, Winners’ Connection aiming to restore hometown pride

By Jemima Holmes

The action is set to begin on December 17, and two spots in the 6th edition of the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF’s) Elite League Promotional Playoffs will be up for grabs.
With nine Regional Member Association (RMA) champion teams lined up to compete, stakes are high, and the level of competition will be even higher as teams participate in one of their toughest tournaments yet.
Thus far, the only Linden-based team, Milerock FC, has been relegated from the League in 2023, while no team from the Ancient County of Berbice is in the Elite League. As such, the respective causes for Monedderlust FC and Winners’ Connection will be greater as they set out to ensure there is representation of their hometowns in the country’s top-flight league.

Following the Group draw last week, Guyana Times Sport caught up with Malachi Todd of Winners’ Connection, who spoke about how valuable the opportunity is, and about making Linden proud. Todd said the golden opportunity the promotional playoff presents is “a great experience, and we were waiting for this opportunity for a very long time”.
“Every day and every week we’re pushing towards being in this competition; and it feels good to be here,” he said. “I think we can, because every day we’re putting in the works, you know. Everybody might not be there, because they have jobs and everything, but everybody doing their individual work.

“I think it’s a good opportunity, because we’re meeting new talents, new faces and new teams; and I think it will be a great competition,” Todd declared in articulating his expectations. “We’re going out there for the first time. We’re going to work hard and show our nation that we can do it, and we can make our region proud,” Todd added about bringing a sense of pride to Linden.
A similar level of optimism has been expressed by Jamal Johnson of the Berbice team Monedderlust FC. He said stiff competition is expected, but the team is focused on recapturing its spot in the League, having last competed in 2017.
“For me, I expect this competition to be a little more challenging than the previous one that we would’ve come out from, right? But the guys are well prepared and ready to take on any sort of challenge that comes their way,” Johnson told Guyana Times Sport.
Sharing on the team’s preparation, he said, “To be honest with you, we’ve been preparing for over a year. So, the guys are physically fit and their technical ability is up to standard. So, we’ll have some good performance from the team coming from Berbice.”

Besides regaining a spot in the Elite League and being the only team from Berbice, Johnson divulged, “Well, definitely, since there is no Berbice team in the Elite League, this is our chance to make it, right? So, with all due respect, me and the guys, we’ll do whatever it takes to put ourselves in the top spot.”
Monedderlust FC has been drawn in Group A of the Promotional Playoffs, alongside Buxton Stars and Bartica’s Beacon FC; while Winners Connection is in Group C, with Dartmouth and Slingerz FC. Group B comprises Tabatinga FC, Herstelling Raiders, and Georgetown’s Beacon FC.
In the promotional competition, each team in the three-member group will play a home-and-away game during the preliminary round, after which the group winners and best second-place team will advance to the semi-finals.
The semi-final draw has been fixed so that the winner of Group C would play the best second-place team in semi-final 1, while the winners of Group A and B will compete in semi-final 2.
The winning team of the tournament will be promoted to the Elite League in place of Milerock FC, while the losing finalist will have a second shot at the Elite League. That team will play Victoria Kings, who finished ninth in the 2023 edition, for the other available spot in the League.