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Muhammad ecstatic about One Guyana President’s Cup tournament
– Hails President Ali’s injection into the ‘Beautiful Game’
By Rawle Toney
Kaieteur News – Kashif Muhammad and his forever partner and friend, Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major, conceptualized a football tournament in 1989, which would later grow to become the ‘holy grail’ for the sport locally.
Muhammad and Major formed the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation and became responsible for bringing some of the best regional players and teams to these shores, for what would be the biggest fusion of entertainment and sports.
The Kashif and Shanghai tournament culminated on January 1 of each year for over two decades.
Sponsors hounded the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation to be part of the football spectacle in Guyana and probably the Caribbean at the time.
However, in 2011, a fallout with long-time sponsors Banks DIH and the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) resulted in the Association and the company coming up with a tournament of their own – The GFA Banks Beer Cup.
The Kashif and Shanghai tournament began to wither.
Kashif Muhammad and the One Guyana President’s Cup tournament trophy.
Following the 2015/2016 tournament which was won by Slingerz Football Club, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) transitioned from a stage of the country’s first Normalisation Committee to having new management under the current president Wayne Forde.
Fast-forward to 2020, the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation partnered with the GFF to host its ‘Bounce Back Classic’ tournament, marking a return to promoting Year-End football for the Medal of Service award-winning entity.
This time around, the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation was tasked with realizing an initiative of President Irfaan Ali – the One Guyana President’s Cup football tournament.
“We were always hoping that one day, a type of injection will come into the tournament to make it explode into something really solid for Guyana’s football, and we think this is happening right now,” Muhammad told Kaieteur News.
He added, “We have for the first time, the President of our country, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the GFF, the Media; so many stakeholders, sponsors willing to come on board.”
The One Guyana Football tournament will see the 10 Administrative Regions placed in two groups of five, with each group playing a round-robin format, after which the top two teams will advance to the semi-finals.
“The K&S organisation is supporting this 100%. We’re excited about making this successful where we can head to the stadium once again,” Muhammad reasoned.
The long-time sports and entertainment organiser added, “This is the kind of injection the tournament needed, and we’re getting it right now. It’s happening at the point in time where we have a very vibrant GFF. So the K&S is more than excited to work with the GFF to ensure the success of this One Guyana President’s Cup.”
The Guyana National Stadium has been used many times for both local and international football, but after the finals on January 1, 2021, cricket officials cried foul at allowing the world’s most popular sport on the pitch at Providence.
Last year’s Year-End tournament final was played at the National Track and Field Centre, but Muhammad noted that the magnitude of the tournament will make it not conducive for the West Demerara venue.
According to Muhammad, “Last year, we filled the National Track and Field Centre, and we have a little issue with the cricket ground at Providence, but we know we need the kind of space to accommodate everybody. We know the President will understand this, and we will eventually get to put football back into the stadium.”
Following the conclusion of the Inter-Ward fraction, the tournament will now move to the Regional Championship, which starts on Sunday at the National Track and Field Centre.
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