Western Tigers stun Slingerz to win GFF Super 16 Cup

Western Tigers have pulled off one of the great modern upsets in Guyanese football, defeating the formidable Slingerz FC 1-0 to lift the Guyana Football Federation’s Super 16 Cup on New Year’s Day.

A dramatic 89th-minute strike from Kevon ‘Showtime’ Woodley proved to be the difference on a night where the script was well and truly torn up at the National Training Facility in Providence.

Slingerz FC arrived at the final as overwhelming favourites, having navigated the entire GFF Elite League season unbeaten; the expectation was that they would cruise to a domestic ‘double.’

Instead, they met a Western Tigers side that has officially earned the title of the league’s “giant killers.”

Western Tigers’ path to the G$2M winner’s cheque was anything but easy.

After finishing fourth in the Elite League, few gave them a chance against the top-tier dominance of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in the semi-finals or Slingerz in the final.

However, after ousting the Army men in the final four, the Tigers showed a defensive resilience that frustrated Slingerz for the duration of the final.

Woodley, a veteran Trinidad and Tobago striker on the Soca Warriors,  lived up to his nickname in the penultimate minute of regulation time, sending the sizeable Providence crowd into a frenzy and leaving the league champions disappointed.

In the earlier third-place play-off, Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ensured they ended their tournament on a high with a professional 3-0 victory over the Guyana Police Force.

Abumchi Opara was the star of the show, netting a clinical brace in the 67th and 83rd minutes, while Jeffery Pereira added the third in the 79th.

The win secured $750,000 for the GDF, while the Police Force walked away with $500,000 for their fourth-place finish.

Meanwhile, to synchronise with FIFA match windows and global transfer periods, the GFF Elite League will transition to an August-to-April calendar, beginning with the 2026–2027 season.

The GFF also confirmed an Elite League Cup scheduled for February–March 2026 to bridge the gap during the transition.