Intense rivalries bring curtains down on Mash Street Football Championships tonight Intense rivalries bring curtains down on Mash Street Football Championships tonight

Intense rivalries will bring the curtain down on the Seventh Annual Mashramani Street Football Championship tonight on the Tarmac of the National Park, after two weeks of pulsating competition in the journey for the coveted top prize in one of the country’s premier ‘small goal’ football tournaments.
The competition, now down to the final four, started two weeks ago with 32 teams vying for the Championship Trophy and a $500,000 first place cash prize. Tonight’s matches would determine how the four teams that qualified for the final round finish.

In the first semi-final, in-form Taliban will tackle the experienced Goal is Money. In the second semi-final, defending champions Stabroek Ballers will come up against the resurgent North East. Each winner of a semi-final would advance to the finals, also set for tonight; while the losers play in the third-place playoff.
The winner will pocket $500,000, second place $300,000, third place $200,000 and fourth place $100,000. Trophies would be given to teams placing first to third while the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament would get $50,000 and a trophy.

There would also be Plate Playoffs featuring the four losing quarterfinalists and the top two teams from the Super-16 round for a total purse of $100,000, while each of the top three teams in this competition would be rewarded with one case of Magnum tonic wine.
As such, Festival City will play Albouystown while Bent Street, who lost to Stabroek Ballers in the Quarterfinals, will play Showstoppers, another losing quarterfinalist. Back Circle B, a quality side that North East beat last weekend, will play Ztekk – also a losing quarterfinalist. These games are set to commence at 8pm sharp.

Hosts of the event, Sports Management Inc. (SMI) disclosed yesterday that all systems are in place for a great night of street football competition. The body has said it spent the last few days going over logistics with the Guyana Police Force and working out every detail to ensure that the event remains one that is incident-free and safe for all patrons at every level.
The organization has said that the sport is definitely growing, and therefore it is treating the finals tonight as a mega-event with the focus of ensuring all stakeholders are comfortable in a secure and safe environment.
“There is no stone that would be left unturned to ensure a night of great, clean fun, sports and entertainment,” SMI said in a press release.
The letter has expressed “gratitude to all those who made the event possible”, especially the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Magnum Tonic Wine, Lucozade, MVP Sports, ENet, Corum Group, Starr Party Rentals, Fireside Grill, Cevons, TCL Guyana Inc., Trophy Stall, J’s Chill Spot, Nigel Hinds Financial Services, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Clifton Hicken, Sleep Inn International Hotel, Secure Innovations and Concepts, Troy Mendonca, Christopher Mathias, the Media, and “all those who supported the grassroots football initiative and contributed in some way toward making the event a success”.