By David Pascal

In what has been a rather lackluster year for local football, thanks in part to the St Lucia Football Association (SLFA), Blackheart Productions has again come to the rescue by the staging the Sixth Annual Blackheart/Kashif and Shanghai football tournament, set to get underway May 18 at the Beausejour Cricket Ground (BCG). The theme this year is "Football, Sports for All."

Details of this year’s competition were revealed during a press launch on Monday evening at Palm Haven Hotel. In attendance were football officials, team representatives and affiliates, along with sponsors of Windward & Leeward Brewery through their brand Guinness and Island Global Yachting (IGY) Rodney Bay Marina.

Sixteen teams will compete in the tournament taking place from May 18 to June 1. Matches are schedule for the Beausejour Cricket Ground and the George Odlum Stadium. Fifteen of the 16 teams are ready to go. The last spot is up for grabs this Sunday when South East Castries play Vieux Fort North on Sunday at Mindoo Phillip Park. The 15 teams set to play in the tournament are: Gros Islet, South Castries, Marchand, Canaries, Laborie, Micoud, Castries All Stars, La Clery, Anse La Raye, Soufriere, Vieux Fort South, Mon Repos, Mabouya Valley and the defending champions from Dennery. The one foreign team is Alpha from Guyana.

Following a tournament overview by Blackheart productions Public Relations Officer, Brian McDonald, the man of the hour, David "Shakes" Christopher took centre stage at the launch When it comes to sports promotion, Christopher may well be the Don King of local football. He began by thanking sponsors and organizers for their assistance leading up to the tournament.

He went on and mentioned the importance of this competition which is far more than just playing the game." "This tournament creates so much camaraderie among the districts. Enemies become friends and brings togetherness and respect," said Christopher. He spoke about people from the various districts showing up to watch the playoff and promotional games leading up to the Blackheart tournament.

Local football is down right now but Christopher called on the SLFA to ride the wave of this tournament to get the game on stream. Marketing Manager of Windward & Leeward Brewery Limited, Shelly Black, thanked Black Heart Productions for their hard work and dedication in hosting this tournament for the last few years. He praised Blackheart for working closely with the SLFA and community groups towards the development of football in St Lucia.

"Over the years Blackheart has done an excellent job of promoting and developing football and the tournament has been growing from strength to strength and I look forward to another successful event," said Black. In his opening remarks, Managing Director of IGY Rodney Bay Marina, Cuthbert Didier, described our Simply Beautiful St Lucia as not so beautiful these days.

It is a country under siege," remarked Didier. "We have young men and women falling by the wayside. It is football tournaments like this that show there is hope." Didier could not think of any event in St Lucia, including jazz or carnival, that delivers the kind of energy and excitement that this tournament brings about. "We really have to take this serious enough because somehow all the communities can put aside their differences come together enjoy these games, respect the camaraderie and competition," he said.

In closing, he commended the SLFA and Blackheart Productions for putting aside their differences for the betterment of football. Lets hope the cooperation continues. Once again there is a lot at stake in this year’s competition. The top four teams receive cash prizes with the winning side pocketing $15,000. In addition, $50 goes towards each goal scored in the first round and $100 per goal scored in the second round up to the finals. There will also be a number of individual prizes for the outstanding performers during the tournament.

Meanwhile, a number of friendly matches were played on May Day, at the La Clery Playing Field, where the Castries All stars defeated La Clery 3-1. At the Phillip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort, Micoud and a Vieux Fort Second 11 side tied 1-1. In another friendly encounter there, it was the women’s turn as Vieux Fort took on Micoud. In the third game that afternoon, a Vieux Fort First 11 side drew 1-1 with Mabouya Valley.