Young players return to pitch for PFL season opener

(CUC-PFL): On Saturday, September 28, Sir John A. Cumber Primary defends its 2012/2013 Opening Rally title as the popular 2013/2014 CUC Primary Football League (PFL) season kicks-off with the always entertaining Opening Rally at the traditional “home of local football”, the T.E. McField Sports Field (Annex Field), beginning at 9:00 a.m. It was only a short 11 months ago that Sir John A. Cumber Primary edged Cayman Prep 3-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout to claim the 2012/2013 Opening Rally title, which marked the only trophy the boys from the West would claim last season.

In contrast, Cayman Prep used this early loss to go on and win the prestigious Under 11 Champions Cup and a second-place finish in the Under 9 Champions Cup.

The Opening Rally has always been highly entertaining and very competitive with 13 schools competing this year including defending champions Sir John A. Cumber Primary, runners-up Cayman Prep and fourth-placed St. Ignatius Prep. Other schools competing include Bodden Town Primary, George Town Primary, Savannah Primary, Prospect Primary, Red Bay Primary, North East Schools (a combined team from North Side and East End Primary schools), Cayman International School, South Sound Schools (a combined team from Montessori by the Seas and First Baptist), St. Ignatius Prep and Triple C.

An exciting, fast-paced one-day tournament, the opening rally consists of short games of 10 minutes per half with no off-sides. Games must end with a winner. If games are tied at the end of the 20 minutes, penalties will decide the victor. The firstround of play is the group stage with schools being divided into three groups of three teams and one group of four. Schools play each other once in their respective group with the two top teams from each group advancing to the second round – the knockout stage. From the quarter finals, the semi-finalists are decided with the resulting two winners advancing to the final and the two losers playing for third and fourth place.

The three groups of three teams include Zone A with Red Bay Primary, South Sound Schools and St.Ignatius Prep; Zone B with Bodden Town Primary, Cayman Prep and Prospect Primary; and Zone C with Cayman International School, North East Schools and Sir John A. Cumber Primary. The only four team group is Zone D with George Town Primary, Savannah Primary, Truth For Youth and Triple C battling for the top two spots.

The PFL Committee encourages fans of “the powerful game” and youth sports in general to make their way to the T.E. McField Sports Field (Annex Field) this Saturday and cheer on our future National Team players. Special thanks to contributing sponsors Progressive Distributors, the CUC Primary Football League’s exclusive supplier of Gatorade. We’ll see you at the field.