29 May 2006 | Rugby
The Grand Bahama Football League completed its season this weekend with the Champions All Star games and the end of season awards ceremeony afterwards at Freeport Rugby Football Club.
Womens champions were Town and Country Predators
Mens champions were Brita Red Bulls
Individual awards were as follows:
Rookie of year:
Tremainne Simmons (women) Daniel Jean (men – brita)
Defender of the year
Joey Smith (women) Rika Bazile (men – brita )
Fair Play
Sabrina Winter (women) Michael Strachan (men)
Golden Boot
McQuella Moxey (women – jets ) TBA (men)
GBFL award
Debbie Borsetto (women – jets) Keznel Etienne (men)
Young Player
Chelsea Smith (women – jets ) Roger Johnson (men – brita )
MVP
Symone Stubbs (women) Rika Bazile (men – brita )
GBFL season finished however during the summer :
Intermediate Boys aged 14 to 17 practising from 5.30 to 6.30 pm every Wednesday at GBFL field
Men to continue scrimmaging from 6.30pm every Wednesday at the GBFL field. Women’s day to be arranged.
Negotiations still ongoing for touring youth teams and mens teams over the summer
Annual Summer Soccer Camp along with English Premier League from July 3rd to July 7th. Contact Mark Hardy for details at 357 5403
25 May 2006 | Rugby
This Sunday saw a title showdown at Freeport Rugby Football Club as Brita Red Bulls took on Insurance Management Lions in a game between two teams with serious title aspirations.
After a years sabbatical, this season’s men’s title has had all sorts of twists and turns as neither Freeport FC nor Insurance Management Lions appeared to want to take the intitiative as they led the table during the course of the season but were unable to pull away from the other teams. Consequently Brita Red Bulls , who had persistently hung around the top two positions all season and had ( in racing terms) now snuck up on the inside rails and thus simply needed to win on Sunday to secure the title .
A cagey start to the game by both teams was interrupted by some bright wing play on the right from Archie Charles of the Red Bulls . One such piece of trickery resulted in namesake Antonio Charles calmly steering a header past the Lions keeper for a one goal lead. All credit to the Lions , however, as they came straight back down the field to equalize via a penalty by Ricky Hutchinson.
The second half saw the younger Brita Red Bull up the tempo in the early stages with good work in midfield by Fabio Cortes, Dominic Adams and Wilfred Guerrier in particular. This effort was rewarded with 20 minutes remaining as the ever dangerous Daniel Jean broke clear of a tired looking Lions defence to slot the ball home for the all important leading goal. Knowing that, in reality, only a victory and hence two goals would secure the title for them, Lions began to press forward in the closing stages especially as the Red Bulls team began to concede the midfield. However resolute defending from Rika Bazille, Wayne Reckley , McGyver Dean and Andrew Bell ensured that 16 year old goalkeeper Roger Johnson was rarely troubled as the game wound down.
The final whistle was greeted with joyous scenes as the Brita Red Bulls clinched their first league title in only their second season in the league – a tremendous achievement for a team with an average age of 19 . A measure of the youthfulness of the side is that approximately half of the team are still at school , indeed a good proportion of the players are part of the Eight Mile Rock High School team that , in the space of 5 days, have won the Island’s School Soccer Championship, The Northern Bahamas School Championship and now the senior GBFL title !!!
Red Bulls coach Husseyin Dengizer felt his team deserved the victory and the title saying they had practiced harder and more frequently than the other teams and that this commitment, coupled with their undoubted talent, meant they were worthy winners of the title. Fellow coach Mark Hardy was also proud of his young players saying that the original objective for this team was twofold:
1) for the team to provide a stepping stone between youth soccer and adult soccer
2) for the players to act as role models to the younger players in the Development Programme which runs for boys aged 8 to 21
I am pleased that both objectives are being met and hopefully this will help progress the development of youth soccer in particular and soccer in general on Grand Bahama. Coach Hardy also wished to thank their sponsors Brita Water, Bristol Cellars , Red Bull and Freeport Rugby Football Club for their ongoing support for the team.
22 May 2006 | Rugby
Following on from the recent testimonials for Roy Keane and Alan Shearer, Freeport FC are pleased to announce the upcoming testimonial for Jimmy Fingers and Cabin Boy this Friday at Freeport Rugby Football Club commencing at 6.30pm – traffic permitting. It is hoped that a galaxy of international superstars will be lining up in opposition to pay tribute to the skills and contributions of the 2 club members. Failing that , if you bring your boots you may get a game !!! Indeed , rumour has it that the evening may well turn out to be ‘bragging rights match’ as the newly crowned GBFL champions Brita Red Bull ( aka the yout) take on Freeport FC ( aka the old gits). The latter firmly believe that the youngsters may well be GBFL champions but are still the second best team at the club !! should be interesting.
Enough of the bickering though. Friday’s game is a tribute to Fingers and Cabin Boy who are both moving onto pastures new. Cabin Boy (pictured right) has just been accepted into the prestigious Cheltenham School for Girls where he will be majoring in hair styling and general gayness . His recent predilection of hanging around the island’s high schools has helped his cause no end in this respect. Rumours he is being mentored by Professor G. Glitter have not been confirmed at this stage.
Jimmy Fingers (pictured left) is moving to Eckingthorpe Pie Eaters FC where he will combine his centre-forward role with that of managing the club’s tuckshop .
Famous for his famous ‘no look air shot’ which was perfected in the recent tour to Miami , Fingers will leave some big shorts to fill at the club.
Kick off is 6.30 Friday at Freeport Rugby Football Club
19 May 2006 | Rugby
The next week sees a plethora of sporting exertion at the club :
Tonight ( friday 19th) sees local school Lucayan International take on Nassau’s Lyford Cay in a boys under 15 soccer game at 5.30 followed by a bbq. With a number of the LIS team belonging to the club’s youth soccer development programme , these players are likely to figure heavily in the club’s soccer teams in the forthcoming years. So come and see what the future represents – see if those family genes of ghassan, justin and steffano have been transferred to their offspring relatives – lets hopes not !!!
Sunday sees the final round of the GBFL season with 2 gripping games. At 2pm our Freeport Jetwash host Town and Country with Jetwash trying to take the champions( T&Cs) unbeaten crown . Amazingly T&C have not been beaten in regular competition for over 5 years now. Can Jetwash beat them ?
At 4pm sees a fitting climax to the season when our youngsters Brita Red bull take on the insurance management lions in a title decider. Ready for this :
If brita win , they win the league- period
if lions win and then beat or draw against chelsea – lions win the league
if lions win but then lose to chelsea – Freeport FC win theleague
if brita and lions draw – you need a calculator !!!
Confused – you will be .
Anyhow see the action at 4pm at the club . Come and shout for our youngsters – average age of 18 as they attempt to win the league. Commmmmmmmme onnnnnn Freeport and feel the force ( cue lots of foot stopping – if you weren’t there you wouldnt understand)
19 May 2006 | Rugby
A sporting legend in his own life time has rejoined the team for this years Grand Bahama soccer camp.
He will lead the outstanding group of local coaches who will again be passing on their skills and supervising the training of the 200 youngsters who will be taking part.
Luther Blissett, who scored 227 goals in only 596 appearances while playing as a striker in the UKs top soccer division, impressed with his knowledge of the game and its latest coaching techniques when he helped at the camp last year.
The event – recognized as the best value summer time activity for children on the island – is again being supported by the most exciting professional soccer league in the world, the English Premier League.
Each week for nine months of the year its games are watched by around 750 million people worldwide including many tuned into Fox Soccer Channel on satellite and Cable Bahamas here in Grand Bahama.
Fox, who last year provided tents to give the children shady areas during the week, are also again going to support the event.
The kids who take part are given authentic uniforms and also get lunch, fresh fruit morning and afternoon, and the chance to cool off in the swimming pool at the clubhouse of the camp hosts, Freeport Rugby and Football Club.
The camp starts at 9am and is packed with activities until 3pm each day from July 3 to July 7.
Registration forms are available now from Animale clothing store in Port Lucaya, Esquire menswear downtown and Town and Country on Yellow Pine Street as well as from the rugby club on game days.
This will be the third time the English Premier League has sponsored the event and during that time there has been a real resurgence in the game on the island. Its profile has been raised among local children but as their skills have grown they have also enjoyed playing even more.
Luther Blissett, who was born in Jamaica, is very excited to be coming back to Freeport. I had a fantastic time last year. The people are really friendly and it was great to work with such an enthusiastic bunch of kids. I am looking forward to seeing how they have developed in the last 12 months when they have not only had a chance to hone their skills but they have also grown physically.
Also returning to help with the coaching will be Phil French, who used to work as the EPLs head of public affairs but now runs a nationwide organization for soccer supporters in the UK.
Leading Freeport youth coach Mark Hardy said: We are delighted to welcome these guys back. They have both done a great job with local kids and they make the event fun as well as skill building.
Last year a group of youngsters from Abaco joined local players for the week and this year it is likely there will be attendees from Nassau.
