Thursday January 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 35
Triple time champions Federal Winners Connection receive GT Beer prizes Dainty is MVP
Banks GT Beer Brand Manager Mr. Geoffrey Clement (left) hands over the winners’ $800,000 first prize to Marlon Maxius, captain of Federal Winners Connection FC, while his teammates and UDFA boss Sharma Solomon (left) look on.
B
anks GT Beer Brand Manager M r. G e o ff r e y Clement has thrown down the gauntlet to the clubs in Linden to find a way of unlocking the key which has s e e n F e d e r a l Wi n n e r s Connection take a stranglehold of the third annual Upper Demerara Football Association GT Beer Cup championship after the club was presented with the championship trophy, cash incentive and medals for the third straight year on Tuesday afternoon at the Egbert Benjamin Conference Centre. Speaking at the official
ceremony for the presentation of prizes won after the Federal Winners Connection beat Silver Shattas 1-0 in the final, Mr. Clement told the attendance, “I also want to congratulate the winning team Federal Winners Connection for the third year, this is amazing and I am throwing out the challenge to the Linden community to take up the challenge in taking the championship from Winners Connection who, have won this championship three years in a row.” In the company of the UDFA President Sharma Solomon at the head table
Defender Derrol Dainty (right) receives his Most Valuable Player award from UDFA President Sharma Solomon.
among others, Clement lamented, “I am happy that this competitive match was associated with GT Beer because GT Beer is a competitive product in this market, and I want to give thanks to the community members of Linden for the sales of GT Beer thus far in our company.” He had special praise Ms. Shondell Easton the Banks DIH Linden Branch Manager noting, “I must acknowledge Ms. Shondell Easton who had given such commitments and reassurances that the tournament would be a success and we really
appreciate and have seen the results that this tournament was a success. With the great turnout from members of the community who came out to celebrate in the entire tournament, I was not here for most of the games, but I must emphasize on the final which I was present on New Year’s Day, it was a very competitive final. I have not seen football at that level in years and I must congratulate the players, especially for the final match between Winners Connection and Silver Shattas for the competitiveness which was really outstanding.”
At the presentation, Clement handed over to Marlon Maxius the captain of Federal Winners Connection FC, the winners’ $800,000 first prize along with their grand GT Beer Champions Trophy and medals, while their top defender Derrol Dainty was adjudged the Most Valuable Player in the tournament. Other individual prizes will be handed out at a later date according to the UDFA vice president Collie Hercules. The UDFA president thanked the beverage giants for their steadfastness in sponsorship to the tournament and highlighted
that Banks DIH has been associated with the sport for football in Linden for over two decades. He pledged the commitment of the UDFA in light of the continued sponsorship from Banks DIH and recent coming on board by In Time Recording Studio that football will be promoted and developed by his association. The other clubs who were handed their cheques were runner-up side Silver Shattas $500,000 and medals, third place finisher Topp XX with $300,000 and Net Rockers $ 200,000 for coming fourth.
Narine faces club cricket ban Sunil Narine (AFP)
T&T Newsday - Banned from international cricket by the ICC, off-spinner Sunil Narine could find himself prohibited from even playing for Queen’s Park in the forthcoming 2016 season if the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) executive passes a motion to extend his ban domestically. Reports have emerged that a nationwide block on Narine was discussed at the last executive meeting with no firm decision made. Speaking with Newsday Tuesday mere minutes prior to a 6pm executive meeting, TTCB first vice-president Dr Allen Sammy acknowledged that Narine was a topic on the agenda. ”I hear the president (Azim
Bassarath) say something about Sunil Narine but I don’t know what is the discussion yet,” he said. A source close to the situation but who wished to remain anonymous speculated that Narine may have ruffled a few feathers in his defence of Evin Lewis, Kevon Cooper and Rayad Emrit who were stripped of their retainer contracts after competing in the Bangladesh Premier League (November 22 December 15) last year. The trio clashed with TT CB CEO Suruj Ragoonath who they claimed had given permission for players to compete in T20 leagues an assertion Ragoonath has denied. The source said Narine was vociferous in his condemnation of
the move to take away the players’ retainers which did not go down well with certain members of the TT CB. ”Sunil spoke out in support of the players and because he open he mouth they want to do him that. Yes he has a little (bowling) problem and whether he getting fight down or not (from the ICC), at the end of the day he is a Trinidadian and a West Indian,” the source said. ”Narine has done amazing things for the Red Force and the West Indies that no one has ever done and now they treating him like that,” he said, while listing some of the embattled spinner’s achievements. The 27-year-old Arimian was the West Indies’ top wicket-taker
during their victorious 2012 World Twenty20 campaign and starred for the Red Force at the defunct Twenty20 Champions League and Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament. He grabbed a tournament-high 12 wickets last year as the Red Force reclaimed the Nagico Super50 title for the first time in five years. ”Sunil is mad and angry. They supporting Sunil in the newspaper but in reality want to stop him from bowling. Noncontracted players getting $40 a day when they come to train but nobody saying nothing about that. Players always does come out looking bad every time there is a problem but nobody saying (Continued on page 31)