From as soon as next year, footballers playing in the Hennessy Barbados Masters Tournament could be joining some of their younger counterparts in the island in kicking for big bucks.
That is the word from Antonio Arthur, Hennessy brand manager, who said the sponsors were so impressed by the players’ commitment and skill that his company was inviting the committee to look at giving the winners cash awards.
Arthur was speaking at the fifth successive awards ceremony sponsored by Hennessy, which was held at the popular Empire Club in Bank Hall.
“Hennessy will continue to support the masters as we are very, very happy with the skills displayed and we are impressed with a job well done,” he said.
The promise of cash awards would have been welcome news for the Stag Beer Bayland Masters, who took first prize in Division 2; Division 1 champions KW Professional Services Benfica Masters; and Empire, who captured the knockout crown.
No one would have been more pleased with the offer than acting president Trevor Chase, who later indicated that they were looking at offering a top prize around $3 000 to the teams.
“Of course, we must first look at what Hennessy can offer us as they have been very good to Masters football over the years and next year they will be looking to brand Masters football.
“We need a sponsorship of around $20 000 to properly run the tournament and give the winners a rewarding purse,” he said.
However, the elected vice-president who took up the presidency following the death of Sherlock Yarde indicated that the logistics and inherent costs of running the tournament were denying four or five teams entry into the competition.
“Each year, we pay around $10 000 to officials, then we are faced with the challenges of getting grounds from the National Sports Council as well as sharing grounds with other football and cricket clubs.
“To get around some of those challenges, we have looked at starting games around one [o’clock] in the afternoon or playing night games.
