THIS weekend, the Blackheart Productions train heads for Dennery where the Big 8 Tournament will jump-start this season’s SLFA/Blackheart Knockout Football Tournament.
The Big 8 Challenge is set for Saturday and Sunday (September 2 to 3), at the Dennery Playing Field and will feature the top eight teams from last year’s tournament going all out to vie for the championship prize.
The fixture of matches for this year’s Big 8 draw, is as follows:
Saturday –
Game 1 – Desruisseaux vs. Soufriere – 5:00 p.m.
Game 2 – La Clery vs. Marchand– 6:10 p.m.
Game 3 – Vieux Fort South vs. Gros Islet – 7:15 p.m.
Game 4 – Anse La Raye vs. Dennery – 8:20 p.m.
Matches will be of 60 minutes duration with 30 minutes per half. The semi-finals and finals of the competition are scheduled for Sunday, at the same venue.
A monetary prize of $5,000.00 is at stake for the eventual winner, to undertake the respective community’s youth development programme.
Interestingly, this year’s Big 8 Tournament incorporates two factors; matches are being held on the home ground of last year’s double-champion winner – Dennery, who won both the Big 8 and the major Blackheart Knockout Football Tournament.
The theme for this season’s tournament is entitled: “Shoot Goals, Not Bullets”, and the organizers continue to encourage people to find better ways to resolve conflicts, as it resonates with the Saint Lucia Football Association’s [SLFA] own anti-violence campaign.
Speaking at an earlier media launch, last month, SLFA’s assistant General Secretary Evastus Augustin noted: “The SLFA loves the theme being used in light of the violent issues in Saint Lucia.
“Football is a medium for bridging communities and can be used to minimize a lot of the social ills. It affords our communities to be in an economic spin, where people can reap a lot of positives.”
Following the conclusion of the Big 8 Tournament, the Blackheart Knockout Football Tournament will begin the following weekend at the Dennery Playing Field.
The fixtures of matches for the preliminary rounds are as follows:
-Tournament Openers (Dennery Playing Field): Saturday, September 9th and Sunday, September 10th
– Philip Marcellin Grounds [PMG], Vieux Fort: Wednesday, Sept. 13th
– Soufriere Stadium, Soufriere: Saturday, Sept. 16th and Sunday, September 17th
– PMG: Wednesday, September 20th
– Semifinals: Saturday, September 23rd – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground [DSCG].
– Finals and Peace & Unity Concert: Saturday, September 30th – DSCG.
Among the highlights of this year’s tournament are safe spaces for children at the venues, and more partnerships within the communities.
The Peace & Unity Concert, at the DSCG, following the finals will feature an array of international and Saint Lucian artistes.