The 17th edition of the Florida Cup begins today (Friday, February 23) in Fort Lauderdale, with rivalry in three categories.
At various venues across the US sunshine state, 18 teams begin their quest for softball supremacy in the first major tournament of the year.
Defending champions in the Over-50 category, Regal Legends take on Orlando Legends in Miramar Park their opening fixture on Friday morning before turning their attention to Shaw’s Reality Legends in the afternoon.
The Mahendra Hardyal-led side will end their preliminary round of matches on Saturday morning with a key clash against Marine Legends, the other team that travelled from Guyana.
The semi-finals will be on Saturday afternoon, while the final in all three categories will be on Sunday.
The other categories are for Masters players who are 40 years and older and the All-Star category which caters for players of any age.
Hardyal is confident of bagging another title in the Legends Category where he noted that the players are a settled bunch of eager guys who had some cricket heading into the Florida Cup.
The defending champions are joining forces with New York Hustlers Legends for this tournament mainly because of the challenges of getting full squads to travel to every tournament.
Before leaving Guyana, Regal Legends were given a boost of confidence from popular YouTuber Danny Persaud with his channel, It’s Our Life ARD with a timely sponsorship.
Meanwhile, President of the South Florida Softball Cricket League (SFSCL), Anoop Basdeo is expecting high levels of competition. “As a League, we have done everything possible to ensure all teams have a fun and memorable weekend. For the first time we will be having Live streaming on all three days of the tournament. All teams are eager and the weather is in our favour,” Basdeo stated.
The live streaming is being done by FL Sport with Chief Executive Officer, John Ramsingh leading the commentary team. The coverage will be carried on the Guyana TV Network.
Florida Cup is the first major Softball tournament of the year among teams from North America and Guyana. In July, teams take on the Independence Cup in New York and in November teams end the year in Guyana at the Prime Minister’s Cup.
