Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 launched

Sep 24, 2010 Sports

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Football Fever Grips the Caribbean

Port of Spain, Trinidad: Digicel, proud sponsors of Caribbean Football, yesterday officially launched the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 at a glittering press conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Trinidad.
The Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 kicks off in Puerto Rico on October 2nd and then travels to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and the Dominican Republic to complete the first stage of the tournament.
In the second round, some of the higher ranked teams – Cuba, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago – are seeded and will join the tournament in the qualification stage playing across three host countries including Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda.
The top two teams from each of the groups in stage two will join the holders, Jamaica, and the hosts, Martinique, to make up eight finalists in the Digicel Caribbean Cup finals from November 26th.
The tournament – which will run over nine weeks – encompasses a total of 55 matches to be played across eight countries culminating in what is sure to be another thrilling Digicel Caribbean Cup final in Martinique on Sunday December 5th. Tens of thousands of football fans are expected to attend the live games with millions more watching worldwide on TV.
The eight best teams from the region will play in the finals in Martinique for the title of Digicel Caribbean Cup champions 2010 and walk away with US$120,000 – the largest cash prize for football in the region.
Runners up will take home US$70,000 and third and fourth place winners will win US$50,000 and US$30,000 respectively. The top four countries will also advance to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.
To ensure the Digicel Caribbean Cup is brought to as many people as possible, Digicel has invested heavily in the TV production to broadcast the games across the Caribbean and internationally.
All 39 qualifying group games will be aired in full across the region on an “as live” basis and all 16 games of the finals will be broadcast live worldwide by satellite. In addition, ten thirty-minute highlight shows will be produced and broadcast regionally and internationally, courtesy of Digicel.
President of the Caribbean Football Union and CONCACAF and Vice President of FIFA, Jack Warner, commented; ”I am delighted to be here to mark the launch of the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010. It’s amazing to think that just six years ago the tournament was only one week long with 16 matches.
Today, we have a tournament that can stand alongside some of the biggest football tournaments in the world with 23 nations from across the Caribbean competing over nine weeks in 55 matches for the honour of being Digicel Caribbean Cup champions and a staggering US$120,000 in prize money. I’d like to wish all the teams the very best of luck and I look forward to seeing some world class football throughout the tournament.”
Digicel Group Marketing Operations Director, Kieran Foley, said; “This has been an exciting year for football in the Caribbean with the Digicel-sponsored broadcast of the FIFA World Cup, the Digicel Kick Start Clinics and now the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010.
“With the launch of a massive marketing campaign entitled “23 Nations One Goal”, this year’s DCC promises to be even bigger and better. Customers can expect a whole host of exciting promotions in each Digicel market for the duration of the tournament.”
Samsung’s Sales and Marketing Director, Ernesto Piedra, said; “We are delighted to be joining Digicel as the official handset partner for the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010. We are looking forward to watching some great displays of the beautiful game between now and December and to exciting people across the Caribbean with great promotions and offers.”
Digicel announced its initial four year sponsorship of the Digicel Caribbean Cup in May 2004 and, in June 2007, extended its contract until 2011. Digicel has been involved in a wide range of football initiatives designed to support the development of football in the Caribbean and Central America. Digicel, which has operations in 32 countries worldwide, sponsors 17 Football Federations and Leagues, as well as the Digicel Kick Start Clinics and the Digicel Caribbean Cup.
Stage One: Group A: October 2nd – 6th in Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico, St. Martin, Cayman Islands, Anguilla)
Group B: October 6th – 10th in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat)
Group C: October 13th – 17th in Suriname (Suriname, Guyana, St. Lucia, Netherlands Antilles)
Group D: October 13th – 17th in Dominican Republic (Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, Dominica)
Stage two: Group E: October 20th – 24th in Grenada (Grenada, Guadeloupe, Winner of Group A and Winner of Group B)
Group F: November 2nd – 6th in Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Winner of Group C and Runner up of Group C)
Group G: November 10th – 14th in Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Winner of Group D and Runner up of Group D)
Finals Tournament: November 26th – December 5th
Group Stages: Friday November 26th – Wednesday December 1st  – Two groups of four teams – top two teams qualify to Semi Finals
Semi Finals: Friday December 3rd
Third Place Play Off: Sunday December 5th
Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 Final: Sunday December 5th.

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