By Akeem Greene
At last, after nine seasons, the finals of the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’- the Caribbean Premier League (CPL)- will be hosted in Guyana.
This year’s CPL is window is August 30 to September 30, and the entire finals week will be played at National Stadium, Providence.
On Wednesday evening, the venue hosted the launch party where it was announced that a Cricket Carnival event under the ‘One Guyana’ banner will be held for two weeks to coincide with the 11 games in the country.
Minister of Culture of Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., exuberant over the prospects that beckon during that period, underscored that “sport is a universal unifier” and this a tremendous opportunity to bridge any divide.
“This event will be a turning point for Guyana as a destination to host premier events,” the Minister said as he envisioned the long-lasting global product Guyana will offer.
In 2019, Guyana, for the first time, hosted the Eliminator and Qualifier One, after which Qualifier Two and the final were held in Trinidad and Tobago.
However, for the next three years, those four games which make up finals week will be hosted by Guyana.
The home for franchise Guyana Amazon Warriors, Guyana become only the third territory to host the final in the six-franchise tournament.
Trinidad and Tobago has hosted the final six times and St. Kitts the other three.
A HUB FOR TOURISM
Oneidge Walrond, Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce, expressed, “We in Guyana look forward to playing our part as a host for the 10th year.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CPL was solely held in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Though Guyana was not able to host for the last two years due to the pandemic, Minister Walrond highlighted that CPL 2021 attracted close to US$50M in total sponsorship value for Guyana, with the tournament surpassing half a billion in viewership for the second successive year.
With Guyana relaxing most COVID-19 regulations as regards social gatherings, Minister Waldrond is adamant that Guyana is ready to host the event in a safe manner.
“From celebration in the streets to the pounding hearts in the stadium, cricket comes alive again,” the Minister proudly expressed.
Revealing there will be a clash of Carnival bands to coincide with the cricket, the concept is to fuse sport and entertainment.
The hope?
To make Guyana attractive as a destination for quality sport event and the Carnival subplot.
The CPL final will be played on September 30 at Providence.
