Tuesday July 30, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 31
CALEDONIA AIA ON = = = Letter to the Sports Editor = = = TOUR OF COLOMBIA Phantom DCB continues to - preparing for CONCACAF Champions League
Caledonia in Colombia Bogota, Colombia Morvant/Laventille based TT Pro-League side Caledonia AIA is heightening preparations for their 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League. With Caledonia AIA facing Mexican giants Deportivo Toluca FC in the opening game of the 2013/14 CONCACAF Champions League, the Morvant/ Laventille based football club headed to Colombia in preparation for the high Altitude expected in the Central American Country. The contingent led by cofounder and Technical
Director Jamaal Shabazz, will over the next ten days, prepare with rigorous training and adjusting to the altitude since the Eastern Stallions made it clear that they are not just participating. Twenty-four clubs drawn from within the CONCACAF Region will compete; they have been placed into eight groups comprising three teams each. Goal Keepers: Glenroy Samuel, Shemel Louison Defenders: Kareem Joseph, Nuru Muhammad, Akeem Thomas, Aubrey David, Nical Stephens, Jamaal
Smith, Keiron Mathews, Marcus Ambrose Midfield: Akim Amstrong, Densill Theobald, Stephan David, Nathen Lewis, Abdalla Phillips, Aaron Lester, Kevon Bettelmy, Noel Williams, Miguel Romero Forwards: Jamal Gay, Andre Tousaint, Keyon Edwards, Jullian Wade Jr. Staff: Jamaal Shabazz – Manager/Head Coach, Jerry Moe – Asst Coach/Trainer, Rajeesh Latchoo – Assistant Coach, Steve Federick – Goalkeeper Coach, Donna Marie Wicham – Physio Jimmy Roach – Equipment Manager
Virgin “all aboard” with the Caribbean Premier League! CPL - Organisers of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (LCPL) T20 Tournament are pleased to announce Virgin as a tournament partner for the inaugural event as well as a founding team sponsor for the Antigua Hawksbills franchise team. Virgin, together with Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Holidays and Virgin Media will support the competition which starts in just a few days on 30 July 2013. The partnership covers the league’s six competing franchises as well as making Virgin Atlantic the official airline of the LCPL. Virgin’s efforts will also be very focused on the Antigua Hawksbills, coached by West Indies cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards, and offering a host of competitions and prizes to help raise the excitement level even further. Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group said: “With cricket fever in full swing, I am delighted to announce Virgin as an official
partner of the Antigua Hawksbills in this year’s new Limacol Caribbean Premier League. Twenty20 cricket is always an exciting competition – but in the Caribbean it will surely be the greatest party in sport.( I’m looking forward to heading over to Antigua to watch the game against the Barbados Tridents on 13th August. It will be a great opportunity to catch up with Sir Viv and it will be one of the last chances to see the great Ricky Ponting bat, alongside some top West Indies talents like Marlon Samuels and Kieron Powell. The carnival atmosphere in the stadium has to be seen to be believed and we are planning a few special Virgin touches to ensure the party goes on long into the night, long after the game is over.” CEO of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League Damien O’Donohoe added: “We are thrilled that Sir Richard and the team at Virgin are going to be involved with the League and Antigua Hawksbills this year. We have
always said LCPL would be the party everyone wants to be at as we look to create a unique Caribbean experience both on and off the pitch. Virgin will add significantly to that experience and we are excited about the impact our partnership will have for LCPL across the world.” Ajmal Khan, Chairman of Verus International and founder of the LCPL agreed. “This is further good news for the League as it prepares for the first match on 30th July. It is fantastic to have Virgin involved. It is a great endorsement in terms of what we have created with LCPL and no one understands marketing better than Virgin, so we are delighted to be working with all the group companies in delivering some novel and creative ideas that will benefit the local fans and players.” LCPL organisers say Virgin has much in store for fans, the details of which will be announced soon. The inaugural Limacol CPL T20 tournaments bowls off on 30 July in Barbados
cause disruption and chaos
DEAR EDITOR, The letter carried in a section of the Media on Saturday 27 July 2013 under the caption “DCB rebukes insolent East Coast Cricket Board” supports the position which we have consistently taken, that the present Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) is a phantom Board without the moral and legal authority to govern cricket in Demerara. We have asked the question several times and even solicited the assistance of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) as to who are the members of the DCB Executives and also when they were elected and by whom. There has been no response and the names remain a closely-guarded secret. This is the very first time since the formation of the DCB in 1991 that the Executives of the DCB stubbornly refuse to identify themselves to their constituent members, the Minister of Sport, the media, the public and even the WICB. The names of all the Executive Members of the Berbice Cricket Board and the Essequibo Cricket Board are known to all Guyana. This is probably their way of protecting themselves from a period of confinement in the Georgetown prisons. Justice Madame Daine Insanally had in January 2013 issued an injunction preventing persons including Raj Singh, Anand Sanasie, Drubahadur, Chetram Singh and Ramsay Ali from holding elections of the DCB. Any identifiable person would be charged and placed before the court for contempt. This phantom DCB, evidently controlled by Raj Singh and Anand Sanasie, cannot even identify the name of the Administrator in the subject letter. Both Raj Singh and Anand Sanasie are presently under a dark cloud. Raj Singh is being investigated by the police for lying to the Parliamentary SubCommittee in an attempt to misdirect the work of that body, while Anand Sanasie is before the court on charges of contempt and perjury for lying in court documents. The illegalities by Raj Singh and Anand Sanasie are orchestrated for them to maintain a stranglehold on Demerara and Guyana cricket and yet this phantom DCB has the audacity to question the credibility of the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB). The ECCB is a properly constituted Board whose Executives are all known to the public. No one from the ECCB Executive is before the court for any charge and throughout this sordid episode in Demerara cricket, the ECCB has respected all court orders and the rule of law. The ECCB has been diligently occupied in the pursuit of promoting and developing cricket on the East Coast. We have played competitions at all levels over the years up to and including 2013. Our many sponsors include Rockaway Auto Sales, Elizabeth Styles, Comfort Manufacturing, Singhfamcorp, B.K. International, NIDECA Investments, Globe Manufacturing, Ansa Mc Al (Carib Beer T20) B.M. Soat, President Cup and two new ones are expected later this year. All our clubs on the East Coast are involved in and are benefitting from the competitions and also from the Annual Cricket Academy. However, the DCB over the past few years has failed attract new sponsors. The two (2) weak Associations that presently make up the DCB, that is the West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) and the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association (EBDCA), do not play any cricket competitions, have
absolutely no sponsors nor cricket development programmes and have contributed to the chaos and confusion in Demerara cricket by supporting the phantom DCB. It is important to note that Raj Singh and Anand Sanasie are the very persons who are firmly in charge of EBDCA and WDCA. It is extraordinary for the phantom DCB to suggest that it is representing cricket in Demerara when the two energized, productive and structured Associations, the ECCB and the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) have both rejected the current DCB. It was the ECCB and the GCA that took the illegal DCB to court and won an injunction in January, 2013 preventing the holding of DCB elections. Raj Singh and Anand Sanasie are nevertheless hell bent on creating division in our cricket. It is disrespectful and audacious of the elusive DCB to suggest that the Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony has recognized this phantom DCB and the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). The Government of Guyana (GoG) is on record as stating that it does not recognise that DCB nor the GCB and ipso facto has been dealing directly with the WICB. The GoG had earlier instituted contempt charges against the purported Executives of the GCB and even had cause to search their homes. It is the Government’s stated position of their non-recognition of the so-called DCB and the GCB that has precipitated the Parliamentary process to sanitize cricket, legislate cricket and hold fresh elections. The phantom DCB’s charge that the ECCB threatened some clubs away from their meeting is ludicrous since our professional management style, our sense of responsibility and respect for the rule of law combined with our excellent relationship with our clubs would not permit us to engage in such behavior. It is the phantom DCB that has embarked on a crusade of intimidation against clubs, players and parents who do not support their illegal reign and have even excluded deserving players from teams and withheld funds from certain clubs. It is hypocritical for this illegal DCB to say that it supports the cricket controversy being addressed in the court of law when they have engaged in some very unsavory acts to subvert both the court and the Parliamentary processes including the submission of forged documents. In conclusion, we wish to restate that the present DCB is an illegal body and decidedly does not have support. Further we look forward to the conclusion of the Parliamentary process so that fresh and legitimate elections can be held for both the DCB and the GCB. Thereafter, and with proper and legal Boards in place we can proceed to the promotion and development of our beloved national game. East Coast Cricket Board