UDFA President urges more support for association

– GT Beer top performers awarded

When the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) held its presentation for the winners of the sixth GT Beer year-end football championship, which was won by Eagles United FC on New Year’s Night, the turnout at the ceremony last Wednesday at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Lounge was not what many anticipated, least of all the organisers – the UDFA.
However, the show went on and as the UDFA President Terrence Mitchell quipped, “It seems that when the monetary funds are passed, everything else is secondary. And I want to believe if we had that cheque here today, we would have had a full house.”
That was in reference to the fact that the prize money, which was compliments of

MVP Colwyn “Buck” Drakes on his new motorcycle along with other winners at the UDFA GT Beer championship presentation

the major sponsor Banks DIH Limited, had been delivered to the clubs, including the champions Eagles FC, who carted off the top prize of $1.2 million at a special presentation staged by the beverage company ahead of the presentation by the UDFA of the various trophies and prizes.
Notwithstanding that, the occasion saw Eagles United forward Colwyn Drakes riding off with his brand new motorcycle for being the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament along with other trophies.
The UDFA Head took time out to identify the reason behind the late start of the programme, which was set for 18:00h, noting, “What we are seeing is basically telling us how all of us think and we need to change that. Why we need to change

Terrence Mitchell

that? If we need to go forward, it means that we have to start with the internal discipline. So that when we call on you to do externally …you will respond properly.”
He said to those in the Lounge of the MSC that, “Our mind-set says, 6 o’clock Guyana time. That is how we think. That drop back time is money; time is money; time is success. You got to be able to take advantage and manage your time properly. We got to stop procrastinating. So, we got to work on it. Our idea of this presentation was to be real big, huge.”
Initially, the organisers planned for the presentation to be an awards ceremony for performances throughout the year, both on and off the field. Mitchell added “we are still working on that and our players deserve real recognition”.
“But because with the necessary items, we had to come down to this. I believe our players deserve proper recognition, where we can sit down and recognise them properly,” Mitchell noted.
Apart from the main sponsor, there were other sponsors which helped make the tournament a success mainly Nigel Hinds Accounting and Consultancy, Monty Profitt’s GuyConstruction, and Trophy Stall out of Georgetown.
However, Mitchell said he was extremely pleased that several of the sponsors hailed from Linden; among them Jermine and Sons, Haynes Hardware Store, MB Construction, Mora Springs, Alkaline Water, Babaloo Car Rental, Broad Money Car Rental and Spare Parts, Foreign K8lLinks, Snooks Variety Store, Williams Hollow Blocks, Sports Plus, Kingdom Style Restaurant, Jerry Faucett, Wills Electrical Store, Rite Care Pharmacy, Guyana Police Force, and TWC Pest Control.