The KFC Goodwill International Series will sizzle today as the anticipated semifinals unfolds at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground.
Just in the nick of time, Trophy Stall has hopped aboard the sponsorship train, presenting the championship trophy to sponsors today at their South Road, Georgetown location.
There, Petra Co-Director Troy Mendonca explained the nature of the sponsorship, while sharing his gratitude to the entity.
“Well, Trophy Stall as you know, would normally support us with the Championship trophy for this tournament, and so, on behalf of myself and Co- Director Dr. Cole, we’re very thankful for the support and we look forward for our continued relationship with Trophy Stall in the years to come,” Mendonca shared.
Meanwhile, Mendonca shared his thoughts on what to expect at tomorrow semifinal games, set to kick off at 18:00hrs.
Trophy Stall’s Devis Sunich makes a presentation to Petra’s Troy Mendonca
Mendonca shared about today’s forthcoming semifinal, “The results so far, is a representation of the teams in the tournament. Outside of that, I thought we had a wonderful tournament, its set up nicely, one team from Trinidad, One from Guyana, the other ones from Jamaica and Suriname. So, you have 4 teams that is going to be represented by 4 different countries and so, we anticipate another exciting two days of football.”
The semifinalists for the KFC Goodwill Series are Guyana’s Chase’s Academic Foundation, Jamaica’s Clarendon College, Trinidad and Tobago’s St. Benedict’s College and Suriname’s VMO 4.
Speaking exclusively with the Guyana Times Sport, Chase Academic Foundation stand- in Captain over the weekend, Duquain Samuels, touched on he team’s ability to keep their Jamaican opponents tame, even when missing 4 crucial players to international duties.
“To be honest, for me and the team, I think we didn’t lose any confidence but we played to our best and to an extent that we hold out this game tonight,” Samuels shared.
With their return expected for today’s semifinal, he added, “Our chances will be more high because they will be in the training sessions with us and we’ll put it all out on the field.”
A glimpse of what to expect at this evening’s semifinals
Samuels was also confident about the Guyanese team’s ability to take the championship honours, stating, “All the time. Because in Guyana football, Chase has been in football a long time now and always stepping up their game, especially in finals. So, I get real confidence in my team, and the school that we could make it and we could be in the finals an win.”
Meanwhile, Trinidad’s St. Benedict’s College Captain Malachi Webb touched on how they have adjucted to the Guyanese conditions.
Webb shared, “The wind kinda slowing down the game a little bit because in Trinidad, we not accustomed to the wind, but its good, I like the fields and everything.”
“Well, we came with a mindset of winning and we decide that we’re going to win the tournament this year,” a confident Webb said ahead of today’s semifinal.
After stumbling in their first game, Suriname’s VMO 4 rebounded to book a semifinal spot, as such, Captain Jackson Justin Champier assessed their performance, noting that a win would mean a lot to the team.
The Surinamese player stated, “We arrived late in the country, so we were tired the first game. So, that’s why I think we lost [their first game], then the two other games we thought about how we’re going to play, how we’re going to put ourselves in. We put tha much effort because it’s the first time a team in Suriname made it this far in this competition and it means a lot.”
“I think so, yes. If we play good, use our minds, put much effort, I think we’re going to win,” Jackson added.
For Clarendon College, who recently won the DaCosta Cup and Olivier Shield in their native Jamaica recently, winning is the only thing on their minds.
“We come to play for the trophy so, we’re not going back to Jamaica without anything. We are winning,” Captain Deandrae Gallimore shared.
Gallimore added for good measure, “Yeah, we’re used to it [winning].”
Today, Jamaica will take on Suriname from 18:00hrs in semifinal 1, while Guyana will do battle with Trinidad in semifinal 2, from 20:00hrs, at the aforementioned venue.
KFC Guyana, ExxonMobil, Ansa McAl’s Lucozade and MVP Sports are amongst the other sponsors of this year’s tournament.
