Lloyd Britton Ent lends massive support to Emancipation football tourney

Popular businessman and sports fanatic Lloyd WP Britton has thrown his company’s support behind the 8th of May-organised football competition.
The football competition, which is being staged in observance of Guyana’s Emancipation celebrations, will see some 12 teams battling for the sponsored top prize of $350,000.

According to Chairperson of the BV/Triumph 8th of May group, Latecia Stuart, the competition was long in planning; however after not securing any sponsorship, a request was made to Britton, of Lloyd Britton Enterprise, who immediately jumped on board offering a significant investment.
“He readily came on board as his primary objective is to fuel youth and community development, so he is willing to lend support and assistance to any event or project that achieves that. This is a businessman who puts his money where his mouth is. Therefore, we at 8th of May are very happy with his investment into this competition,” one of the organising members said.
Stuart disclosed that the primary aim of the competition was to involve a number of communities along the East Coast of Demerara, thus aiding in bringing about cohesion and a healthy sporting spirit among teams and supporters. As such, the teams competing are village teams as clubs are restricted from being part of the competition.
It was noted that the primary reason for including village teams as opposed to club teams is that only bona fide members of the competing villages can compete while club teams’ membership may be drawn from several villages. Further, it was disclosed that no player in the Elite League can compete in the competition and it was disclosed that this was a condition of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) in endorsing the competition.
The villages slated to compete are Plaisance, Vryheid Lust, BV, Better Hope, Buxton, Golden Grove, Victoria and Anns Grove, along with some association teams such as Upper Level, Police and a team representing 8th of May, among a number of other teams.
The 8th of May Chairperson said that all the matches were slated to be played under floodlights with patrons being asked to pay $500 to view the matches, which will all be played at the BV Community Centre Ground.
Stuart said that they foresaw the competition having a total of 12 teams, stressing that while the villages have confirmed participation, they were still awaiting confirmation from the invitational teams.
She further disclosed that each team would be paying an entrance team of $20,000, noting that each team would consist of 18 players, a manager and a coach, thus resulting in a cost of $1000 per person. She added that significant work has gone into the planning of the competition.
“The support given by Mr Britton has set the ball rolling and we remain confident that a number of other persons and companies would step forward to play a part as we are certainly in need of support,” she said.
It was revealed that another of the primary goals of the competition was to ensure that there was community participation at all levels. This, the Chairperson stressed, will further help in fostering the level of cohesive partnerships that exist among them all.
The competition will kick off on August 3, and is expected to conclude on September 3.