Republic football kick-off July 13

The eighth season of the Republic Bank Youth Football Cup will kick off on July 13 at Presentation College, Chaguanas and will take a different format this year.

The 2003 season will be played as seven rounds and the girls section will be played as a one-day affair on the day of the grand finals. This was disclosed by Director of All Sports Promotions, Anthony Harford at a press briefing at his Scott Bushe Street office yesterday. “After running the tournament for many years we have noticed a need for change and hence we are going to zone the teams and play seven rounds of football. What we also noticed is that it was very costly to set up play for the girls with only a small number of teams taking part. To remedy this we have decided to play the girls division as a one-day affair on the same day as the boys final,” said the former airplane pilot.

Christopher Aird of Republic Bank Communications Department in-formed the gathering that the tournament has grown from 128 teams initially to over 240 teams in eight years. “This year we will see over $50,000 in prize money being offered. Through the Republic Bank Cup, the Bank helps to fulfill its commitment to youth and their development through sport,” Aird said. “The Republic Bank Cup tournament is a good learning ground for all its participants to stand them in good stead as athletes. During the 2001 Youth World Cup, 14 of the players on the national team came through the Republic Bank Youth Cup. Also a number of girls from the national youth team came through the programme,” the banker said. Christine Francois also of Republic Bank said that registration can take place at any Republic Bank outlet in Trinidad and Tobago as well as the grounds on the morning of the match. The registration fee at the bank will be $120 while at the grounds it will be $150.