Defending Champion begins campaign tonight

May 14, 2023 Sports

GFF/KFC Elite League 2023…

The 2019 Fruta Conquerors football team that won the GFF Elite League.

Kaieteur Sports – A fresh- faced Fruta Conquerors Football Club will, today, begin their title defense in the 5th edition of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/ KFC Elite League.

However, much has changed since the renowned, Tucville- based club last lifted the championship in 2019, including much of their roster.

As Fruta Conquerors prepare to take on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) FC this evening, Head Coach Sampson Gilbert discussed the team’s readiness for the game and the major task of retaining their title.

“I feel delighted to be the defending champions, coming into season 5. It’s obvious that, over the years, we’ve developed a lot of good players that would’ve contributed to us being the back-to-back champs from 2019,” Sampson shared with this publication.The Coach went on to add about the young bunch one can expect to see in action at Eve Leary tonight, “Coming into season 5, we’re having a young group of players. We’re looking forward to expose these players to the level of football that we’re expecting at the Elite League and from a developmental perspective, we know that the players are looking forward to be exposed and to perform well in this Elite League.”

When quizzed about some of the areas that he has focused on in training, the Coach underscored the importance of cultivating an ability to play high- level football.

“We’re working on, generally, our tactical awareness, developing the young players capacity, most importantly their mental ability, to be able to implement the things that are taught to them day in day out at the training sessions, with intensity and using the level of commitment that is expected of them at this level of football, to really defend their title,” Gilbert explained.

Coach Gilbert is also unphased about the major changes that his team has seen since 2019 to present, noting that the club is known to develop and prepare young players for other opportunities.

He said about the changes to their roster, “We as a club, we are accustomed to developing players and then clubs and football entities from across the country and across the Caribbean, really scouting those players out and exposing them to new opportunities. As a result of that, the players that are coming through are always excited to do well.”

“The average age of our team is 21 years and so, because of that, I think players know the sky is the limit and performing well in this league, means that the opportunities are endless,” Gilbert added.

The Fruta Conquerors vs GPF FC clash will go down at 20:30hrs tonight on the Police’s home turf at Eve Leary. The defending champions will play their next league game against Ann’s Grove FC, on Thursday, May 25th at the same venue.

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A fresh- faced Fruta Conquerors Football Club will, Coach Gilbert is also unphased, Guyana Football Federation, today

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