Football is a constant on San Pedro, and it is apparent in the many tournaments on the island that young men and women of all ages are competing. The competitions attract a community following and many loyal fans look forward to the weekly games. With the SP Bze Express Football Tournament ending last week, the Shalom Church, Caye Caulker Water Taxi and the San Pedro Town Council have joined forces to sponsor the Shalom Football Tournament.
The tournament commenced on Sunday, May 6th at the Saca Chispas football field with a blowout marathon, which saw team Legends proving victorious. The games commenced around 10AM and by 6:30PM the winner was awarded a trophy and cash prizes.
Nine teams signed up for the marathon; Legends, Sugar Boys Juventus, Belizean Shores, Ghetto Boys, Shalom Boys, Real Sociedad, Cholos, Joker and Shalom United. The marathon comprised of seven games and three rounds. Round one saw four teams being eliminated, with Legends, Ghetto Boys, Cholos and Belizean Shores moving on to round two. Round two saw Legends victorious over Ghetto Boys in the first game and Cholos winning Belizean Shores. With a five minutes’ break, Cholos went up against Legends in an adrenaline filled match which resulted in a one nil game, in favor of Legends. Apart from the trophy and cash prize, Legends also won a free entry into the tournament.
The tournament came about as the result of a vision of Pastor Marvin Gomez of the Shalom Church. He stated that he has seen the value of sports in San Pedro. Commenting on his interest in organizing the tournament, Pastor Gomez stated, “I have seen that there are lots of young people here that like to play foot ball. So I thought, why not organize a football tournament and try to evangelize the young people that way?”
It is the hope of the organizers that this tournament will help to teach discipline to all the players, a trait that they will be able to apply in every aspect of their lives. The tournament is scheduled to commence on Sunday, May 20th, with games being played weekly on Tuesdays at 7PM, Saturdays at 7PM and Sundays at 3PM leading to the finals on Sunday, July 15th. Teams will compete for first second and third prizes. First prize in the tournament will win a big trophy, medals and $500 cash prize. Second place will win a trophy, medals and $250 cash prize while third place will win a trophy and $100. Deadline for registration is today Thursday, May 10th at $200 per team. Each team is required to present a list of 18 players to qualify to enter. A meeting will be held tonight at 6PM at the Shalom Church south of Pedro’s Inn. All team captains and members are encouraged to attend this meeting as the schedule will be discussed as well as important matters pertaining to the tournament. With the expected success of this year’s tournament, the organizers hope to make the Shalom Football Tournament an annual event. For more information on this tournament, feel free to contact James Sanchez at 669-0892 or Osmin Rodriguez at 627-7491.