Guyanese Community in London delighted with GFF All Stars performance

Aug 18, 2010 Sports

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Island Vibes Caribbean Restaurant host team dinner

It was truly a historic moment and a proud one too when the Guyana Football Federation All Star team in collaboration with Temptation Promotion and GT Promotion took to the field to take on Cray Wanderers on Sunday August 8, 2010 at the Dulwich Hamlet Football Club Champion Hill Stadium, London.

Under the Captaincy of USA based John P. Rodrigues who was ably backed up by England, USA and Guyana based players, the GFF All Stars Coached by Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover and Assistant Peter Barry, gave a very good account of themselves as they came from a goal down to draw the game 1-1 (official result of the game); Sean Cameron scoring for the All Stars.
Despite not winning the trophy at stake, losing 4-3 on penalty kicks after extra time did not break the deadlock, the Guyanese community who came out to support their boys was very satisfied with their performance.
Among those witnessing the game were former West Indies and Guyana Cricket Captain Clive Lloyd, Guyana High Commissioner to England Laleshwar Singh and Guyana and England Cricketer Monty Lynch who said they were heartened by the performance of their boys.
The organisers had hoped for a much larger crowd but those present ensured that they got the chance to compliment the players for a fine job following the conclusion of the presentation ceremony.
With only two sessions of practice prior to the game due to the geographic locations of the players, the team did their country proud. The opening minutes was the toughest for the All Stars as they sought to get into a rhythm but once that period was over, the Guyanese started to dominate proceedings.
The task of coaching the team was also challenging with Dover and Barry having the enviable job of ensuring as many players got the opportunity to showcase what they have with a view to representing Guyana in future games and competitions, regionally and internationally.
Clive Lloyd, father of Goalkeeper Jason Lloyd in a brief comment after the game said he was delighted with the performance of the team and Captain Rodrigues.
High Commissioner Laleshwar Singh, who officially declared the game started, also expressed his pleasure at the teams’ performance and is of the hope that the game would not be the last but the first of many more to come.
“I was more than happy to be a part of this history making spectacle and feel very proud as a Guyanese. The organisers, players and staff must be complimented for making this event happen. It is the first Guyanese football team to play here in England and what a great moment it is; just to be present here is wonderful, the best of luck to the players in the future.”
Many of the supporters traveled for hours to watch the game including a few Guyanese business owners in London.
Exhibiting extreme delight was the owner of Island Vibes Caribbean Restaurant & Takeaway Deo Sukul who also hosted the team to Dinner on two occasions. The positive and energetic Sukul, son of former Guyana Chronicle Photographer Deo Lochan said that words were not enough to express the joy he felt in witnessing the team perform so well.
“I am very proud of the way they handled themselves and I must thank the organisers and the Football body for making this reality. I am always open and happy to welcome my Guyanese brothers and sisters whenever they come here, young or old big or small.”
Sukul has four sons who all work in the Restaurant preparing Contemporary and Classic Caribbean Cusine. Deo Jr., Ayrton, Nyron and Avinash along with Sukul’s wife Leena were all very busy in the Kitchen preparing the meals for the team. Sukul’s sisters Nanda and Indra also assist in the kitchen.
The Guyanese favorite pepper pot, cook-up rice, black pudding, pumpkin & shrimp, dhal & rice, bake and salt fish, cassava pone, egg ball, polourie, cassava ball, potato roti, sada roti, clap roti and bhaiganee are some of the many dishes offered by Island Vibes.

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Caribbean Chess Federation imminent following historic signing of agreement

Chess in Guyana and the Caribbean region received a major fillip following the historic signing of an agreement by this country and associated members of the region to establish a Caribbean Chess Federation (CCU) to represent the interests of all territorial members.
The signing ceremony follows a recent visit by President of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), Errol Tiwari to a meeting of the four Federations in Curacao last week and an earlier decision to establish such an entity, arrived at August 10 last in Willemstad.

A release dispatched to Kaieteur Sport by the executives of the local chess federation disclosed that several Caribbean countries have signed up to the historic agreement. These countries include Guyana, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname. The representatives of the various territories have voted unanimously for the inauguration of a Caribbean Chess Union (CCU) which would represent the concerns of all of the member countries. The newly formed body would be empowered to negotiate with international bodies and speak with a united voice for the respective signatories.
Mr. Tiwari was joined by representatives of several other Federations in the Caribbean including Presidents Ian Wilkinson and Mr. Ludwig Abad of the Jamaican and Netherland Antilles Chess Federations, respectively. President of the Suriname Chess Federation, Dr. Carlos Dos Ramos also affixed his signature to the document.
Meanwhile, Guyana has been tasked with the disbursement of the relevant details coming out of the meeting to all of the associated Caribbean Federations while Jamaica has been tasked with the adoption of the legal framework necessary to establish the entity.
Further, a meeting would be convened shortly to explore the ramifications of the establishment of such an entity.
The meeting in Curacao followed a larger meeting with representatives of the various territories and former Russian World Chess Champion, Anatoly Karpov earlier in the year. Karpov is challenging the incumbent, President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for the post of President of the World Chess Organization ( FIDE ).

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