Two of Barbados’ major football competitions have no plans of trying to rival each other.
In fact, plans are under way to see how the David Thompson Memorial Football Classic and the LIME Pelican Football Challenge can better complement each other in the future.
So said Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development Steve Blackett as he spoke during a press conference at Warrens Office Complex yesterday.
“Only earlier this afternoon, we looked at whether the two tournaments will be rivalling each other and we are clear in our minds that far from rivalling each other, they will probably complement each other,” he said when questioned about whether he thought the two competitions could operate in cohesion.
“They will help to enhance the offerings of the overall out of season football tournaments,” he maintained.
Blackett said that plans were already under way for next year’s Football Classic, and unlike this year’s edition which was hampered by time constraints and lower than expected sponsorship, a bigger, better and more lucrative competition was on the cards.
He noted that this was due to the fact that they wanted the finals of the tournament to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the death of the late Prime Minister, David Thompson.
The minister, however, acknowledged that despite these challenges, the event was still being hailed as a huge success, claiming that it helped to ‘ignite Barbadian spirit and rekindle community spirit,’ as was evident in the estimated 10 000 people who packed the Kensington Oval to watch the finals.
Technical Coordinator of the inaugural tournament, Mark ‘Bob’ Forde explained that this early start would allow for a smoother and lengthier competition than the recently concluded six-week football event.
Forde said that next year matches would be scheduled so as to attract the maximum amount of spectators possible, rather than having three or four matches crammed into any one particular day.
He also brushed aside speculation that players who took part in the LIME Pelican Football Challenge would not be available to compete in both tournaments, revealing that the eventual winners of the tournament, the City, had benefited from the inclusion of some of those players.
“We are not stopping players from playing in both because those players are still members of a constituency and they will have the opportunity to play in this tournament where they can enhance the level of competition.”
