Hear Me Out: Year-End football has lost its soul…and only Kashif & Shanghai can bring it back

Dec 28, 2025 Sports

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By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur Sports – There was a time when Boxing Day in Guyana did not simply mark the aftermath of Christmas. It signaled something bigger, louder, and culturally sacred. It meant Year-End Football. It meant Linden.

It meant anticipation, packed venues, national conversation, and a level of sporting excitement that united communities across Berbice, Demerara, and the mining town where it all began.

That tradition was born in 1990, when two sons of Linden, Kashif Muhammad and Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major, created what would become Guyana’s most iconic football tournament.

Thirty-five years later, that same Year-End football has lost its interest, its edge, and most importantly, its appeal. And under the current Guyana Football Federation (GFF) administration, it has been reduced to a pale imitation of what once was the undisputed “Holy Grail” of Guyanese football.

This column is not written to diminish the work of the GFF or to deny the effort they have put into football development. It is written to highlight a glaring truth, that Year-End football requires a level of vision, credibility, trust, and cultural understanding that the current GFF administration has simply not demonstrated the capacity to deliver.

From 1990 to 2015, the Kashif and Shanghai tournament was to football what the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is to cricket in Guyana and the wider Caribbean. It was not just a competition; it was an institution. It was the country’s largest sporting event, the most anticipated fixture on the calendar, and the standard by which football entertainment was measured.

Its finals in Linden on New Year’s Day, and later at the Guyana National Stadium remain unmatched, still the largest crowd to ever witness football in Guyana.

In some instances, the stadium was filled beyond capacity. That tournament was the first sporting event to truly command the National Stadium, not just occupy it. It brought the best local players together, regularly featured elite Caribbean talent, and turned football into a national spectacle.

The decline began after the 2015 GFF elections that ushered in the current president, Wayne Forde. We can argue the emergence of the Banks Cup, but that’s another story.

Shortly thereafter, Year-End football as we knew it was effectively taken out of existence. What followed were attempts to repackage, rename, and reimagine the tradition, but stripped of the very elements that made it special.

The GFF’s version of Year-End football lacks soul. Crowd appeal is virtually nonexistent. Corporate confidence has evaporated.

Imagine a Year-End tournament without Banks DIH or Ansa McAl, Guyana’s two major beverage companies and long-standing pillars of sports sponsorship. Imagine a tournament so uninspiring that even the media shows little interest.

Sponsors do not walk away casually. Media does not disengage without reason. The truth is, corporate Guyana no longer trusts the GFF with its flagship event, and fans no longer recognize Year-End football as must-see entertainment.

Yes, the GFF has experimented with different marketing approaches. But marketing without authenticity does not resonate. You cannot manufacture tradition, and you certainly cannot replicate credibility.

Ironically, the proof of concept still exists. Look at the Kashif and Shanghai Futsal tournament; vibrant crowds, proper promotion, strong media presence, and genuine public interest. But football needs more than futsal. Guyana needs its outdoor football Holy Grail again, not a substitute played under a roof.

In another column, I will explain why futsal, despite its excitement, does not connect with the average Guyanese fan, and it has more to do with environment than entertainment.

From 1990 to 2015, the Kashif and Shanghai tournament held football together in Guyana. It forced regional associations to stay active. It took football to communities in Berbice, Region 3, Linden, and along the East Coast. It kept players sharp, fans engaged, and administrators accountable.

As someone who has covered the tournament since entering the media in 2004, and as someone who grew up in Linden, where its impact was most profound, I can say with certainty, that the GFF cannot replicate what Kashif and Shanghai built. They cannot imitate it. And they have clearly failed to create a compelling alternative lane of their own.

Year-End football under the current GFF administration is in need of a lifeline. And the uncomfortable truth is this the only organisation capable of saving it is the very one that created it, Kashif and Shanghai.

Guyana’s football deserves its Holy Grail again. And history has already shown us who knows how to deliver it.

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• “Year End” football, Boxing Day, Kashif & Shanghai, Kashif Muhammad

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