New York's Carib Cup launched

Now in the second year of a three-year sponsorship deal, the Digicel Caribbean Cup New York has received high commendation for continuing to give players of Caribbean descent more opportunity to showcase their talent.

The tournament will feature 12 representative teams from South America and the Caribbean and will run from May 30 until September 5th.

Fred Ballantyne, president of the Caribbean Cup Inc. - now in its 19th year - encouraged by the support of the telecommunication moguls looked forward to an exciting tournament and praised the company for their initiative.

"Last year was one of the most successful Digicel Caribbean Cups to date," Ballantyne said in a release.

"Not only did we see an increase in support from media and spectators, but five of our players were drafted to play professional football in Europe. That speaks volumes about the calibre of football being played and how important it is for Caribbean and South American nationals living in New York to have the opportunity to compete in such a prestigious competition."

The format of the competition will see the teams that have qualified placed in two zones - east and west. Defending Digicel Carribean Cup champions, Jamaica, have automatically qualified for the east, while that tournament's runners-up, St Vincent and the Grenadines, have been placed in the west zone. Also in west zone are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and St Kitts and Nevis. Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, St Lucia and Columbia will join Jamaica in the east zone.

Digicel general manager for the diaspora, Valerie Estim, said the company was committed to their support of the tournament and believed it to be important to the region.