King of Studies small goal football tournament set for January 25

ꟷ More lucrative prizes up for grabs

By Timothy Jaikarran

When the second semester at the University of Guyana starts, it’ll be football fever all over again. All footballers are already hyped, as the second edition of the King of Studies tournament is scheduled to kick start on the first weekend of the new semester, January 25th, 2020.

Defending Champions’ captain Jamaine Samuels was also awarded the MVP and player with the most goals

This tournament will be held at the side of the newly constructed Behavioral Sciences Building. Organized by second year International Relations student Jafar Gibbons, the tournament will be played for one day, and all prizes will be handed over on that same day.
The first edition, which was delayed by two weeks due to a bomb scare, was eventually won by Hard Knocks. The eventual MVP walked away with one signature Moov pair of sneakers along with a gold ring sponsored by Antonio Fredericks. Hard Knocks will be aiming to keep their winning streak alive and be crowned two-time champions.

Organiser Jafar
Gibbons

Hard Knocks captain Jamaine Samuels was the standout player in 2018, as he was awarded the MVP and declared player with the most goals in the tournament.
In an interview with this publication, Gibbons said, “My expectation is that the second edition becomes bigger and better, as we are soliciting sponsors to come on board of this lucrative tournament, as the students will look forward to something more this year. In terms of what I am looking to achieve, the founding principle was on the integration, teams being created from a mixture of persons from different faculties, as opposed to persons playing at a faculty level. So the underlying theme on which the tournament is based is giving back and impacting the university in a positive way. We also want to create some traffic in terms of attention towards the University of Guyana and its sports department.”
The competition will feature teams that comprise members from various faculties, as opposed to University norms (inter-faculty sports). The matches will be round-robin style, followed by the knockout stage, which will be three games – two semi-finals and the final. The games will be played in two five-minute halves for the one-day event.
This tournament facilitates 10 teams, and accommodates as much as 100 students. The victorious team is set to walk away with a top prize of $100,000, while the runners- up will settle for $50,000 and third place $25,000.
Gibbons hopes that, once agreed upon, champions will be under obligation to contribute 10% of their winnings towards a project of their choice that will impact the university.
Gibbons has since expressed his gratitude to the University of Guyana hierarchy for granting him the permission needed to ensure his tournament becomes successful.