The inaugural Islands Cup Open tournament is still on stream, and new plans are under way for a kick-off in the summer of 2018.
Caribbean Football Trust Limited board member and media consultant for the project, David Hinds, confirmed that the wheels were in motion, and the project had become even larger than first anticipated.
“What I can say is in the coming weeks, more will be announced and a product, which will make the Caribbean proud and develop our players will be unveiled. Movements are afoot and the tournament will kick off July 21 or 22, 2018; seven days after the World Cup finals in Russia. We’re not trying to compete against the World Cup, and then the following year it will start in January,” he told NATIONSPORT.
The tournament, which was officially launched in April, was said to have several committed franchises from across the region, including the Jamaican Ruff Necks FC, Trinbago Oilers, FC Barbados Challengers, Suriname Gladiators FC and FC Combined Islands.
The tournament affords each player involved the opportunity to earn an income ranging from US$3 000 and up to $10 000 per month. International footballers are also involved, including the likes of Rivaldo, Florent Malouda, Alan Tate, Ronaldinho, and Ricardo Kaka.
Additionally, Hinds revealed that the Italian company Immobiliare was set to close a deal, as early as next week, for the purchase of 65 per cent of the franchise.
He also said that former Trinidad and Tobago national footballer Chris Anderson would hold the substantive position of chairman, while all other posts would remain as originally stated throughout the tournament, which would be played in two parts: summer to be played in July 2018, and winter to be played in January of 2019.
“Everything is set, and all the legend players will be involved; everyone is on board with the project. Dwight Yorke will be the ambassador for the project. We have made great strides, and our silence was not that nothing was going on. The silence was calculated because we wanted to make sure that we updated when things were more concrete,” he said. (RA)
