Major franchise to join ExxonMobil Guyana GSL lineup

– With Australian, New Zealand and Bangladeshi Champions all lined up to take on beloved local franchise Guyana Amazon Warriors

In this year’s ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) T20, another hot ticket awaits Guyanese fans, according to GSL Director Jamie Stewart.
During an exclusive sit down with Guyana Times Sport on Tuesday, Stewart revealed that the fifth team in this year’s competition will be a highly-sought-after one.

Stewart divulged exclusively to this publication, “I think if you narrow it down, it’s the winner of a major league and it’s part of a global franchise brand. I think the fans out there will possibly be able to work out who it is, because there’s probably only one – one of the truly global franchise brands that won a major tournament this season.”
Addressing the franchises already announced for the second edition of the tournament, 2025, Stewart opined that it embodies the Warriors vs the World concept when he explained, “Originally, when His Excellency conceptualized the idea of the Super League, it was to have the champions from various countries around the world come to Guyana and play against the Warriors, and for the people of Guyana to get to see the best teams in the world in action. And also, you know, so the cricket fans all over the world could, could see how the best teams from different leagues were able to compete against each other, and who was the best.
“So, exciting to have the Big Bash winners, now we’ve got the Super Smash winners from New Zealand, we have last year’s GSL winners, Rangpur, and we’ve got one more team that will be announced. So, it’s truly going to deliver on the idea of the Warriors versus the champions of T20,” the GSL T20 Director further stated.
Slated to bowl of on July 10, preparations are going apace for the GSL’s second installment. As such, Stewart expressed his excitement as the tournament draws near.
“Really excited about it! I think the whole event, team, and the country did very well last year to put the event together on very short notice. This time we’ve had a bit more of a runway; we’ve managed to get a really exciting group of teams together, some of the world’s best T20 teams. I think the timing is great, schools’ out, so we’re really hoping we can create another, you know, cricket carnival and cricket extravaganza in July,” Stewart related to this publication.
Noting that ticket sales would likely begin soon, the ExxonMobil Guyana GSL Director shared his expectations for this year’s competition.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do still, and I think you’ll see things really beginning. Honestly, it was difficult to start the promotion before we could announce the teams; and in fact, we still got one more team to announce, but soon as we have all the teams in hand, you’ll find – I think you know – by next week we’ll have launched ticket sales,” he revealed as he addressed the topic of ticket sales.
Stewart continued, “I think you know the promotion will really start in via our media partners, our broadcast partners around the world, our radio partners, and of course you know social media, our own channels and our partner channels. I think you hopefully see things go from kind of, you know, 10 to 100 in a short space of time.”
Turning his attention to his expectations for the global event, he opined, “Most of all, we’re hoping for, as it was last year, really competitive cricket, close games. I think the event really established some credibility last year. I think the word around the Cricket World was that it was really well run, and how welcomed the players felt by the Guyanese people, and what a warm response they got. They really had an amazing, amazing time, and that word-of-mouth spreads out. So, I think the Guyanese hospitality become famous, And I think the players are really looking forward to it.”
The ExxonMobil Guyana GSL T20 is slated to be played from July 10 to 18 in Guyana, and will feature defending champions Rangpur Riders of Bangladesh, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Australia’s Hobart Hurricanes, New Zealand’s Central Stags and one yet-to-be-announced team.