ACCORDING to tournament organizers, this year’s Blackheart Knockout Football (BKF) Tournament is back with a bang – Bigger and Better.
Patrons are in for a real treat, and apart from the riveting on-field play there will be lots of entertainment and a grand Musical Concert, featuring local and international artistes to round off the competition on September 30.
For starters, this year’s event will commence with the ‘Big 8 Knockout’ championships, next weekend (September 2 and 3), at the Dennery playing field.
Four venues will be utilised for this season’s knockout football challenge.
The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground [DSCG] will host the semifinals and finals of the main championship event on September 23 and 30. Preliminary round matches will also be held at venues in Dennery, Vieux Fort, and Soufriere.
From the Dennery Playing Field the action moves to the Phillip Marcellin Ground [PMG] on September 9, then to the Soufriere Stadium from September 16 to 17, and back to the PMG on September 20.
Underlying the intensity of the tournament and outreach to the communities to set the youth on a more productive and progressive path, this year’s theme, ‘Shoot Goals and Not Guns’ and ‘Peace & Unity among the Community and Rural Gangs’ encompasses all the above.
Blackheart Productions Sports and Entertainment CEO David “Shakes” Christopher noted that the two-day extravaganza, at Dennery, will feature the top eight teams from last year’s main competition. As for the logistics, he said, the Blackheart crew has received support from the parliamentary representative Alfred Prospere and work will be undertaken to upgrade the aesthetics, amenities, and accommodations at the facility to ensure that participating teams and patrons are well cared for.
He noted that rather than using the term ‘corporate sponsor’ this tournament will revolve around “partnerships” with different business houses, groups, and media personnel in the drive to Fight Crime.
Speaking about the success of the Blackheart Productions Football Tournament over the years, Christopher described the event as the “World Cup” of Saint Lucia, due to the intensity of the challenge among top district teams.
“This is where all the footballers in the island…all 19 leagues come together to express themselves and showcase themselves and bring joy to the community,” he declared.
Noting the impact of this sports challenge on the players and fans, he added: “Football brings the communities together …when we say ‘Shoot Goals not Bullets’, we mean it holistically – the goals of your life, and in your community, the goals of uplifting yourself and the goals in football, because football is goals.”
Christopher noted that in keeping with the Blackheart theme, the delivery of ‘conscious music’ will feature in the presentations. “At the end of the Blackheart tournament we will have this massive show with Norris Man, Legal, Meshack, and Zionomi to signal that ‘Peace & Unity is back in Saint Lucia,” he said.
“We are going to be uniting everyone through conscious music, throughout this tournament,” added Christopher.
The finals and Peace & Unity Concert are slated for September 30 at the DSCG; where fans and spectators will get to watch the top contenders vying for the coveted trophy and monetary prizes at stake, with an array of top local artistes and international stars also set to perform at the event.