Web Posted - Fri Feb 11 2005 Compliments of the Barbados Advocate

THE inaugural Digicel Caribbean Cup trophy was unveiled for the first time at a press conference at the Turtle Beach Hotel in Barbados yesterday with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Digicel Caribbean Cup Finals slated to take place from February 20 to 24.
Sponsors of the inaugural event, Digicel unveiled the impressive sterling silver cup with a black granite base that incorporates flags from each of the CONCACAF nations. The artwork of the trophy displays footballers in the heat of play as the cup reaches to the skies above them, representing the ambitions and aspirations of the players.

Commissioned by Digicel the trophys modern design signifies the Caribbean companys own vision for the tournament itself as a premier international championship.

Digicel will sponsor the tournament for four years and they also took the opportunity to announce a number of exciting initiatives that they will be bringing to the Digicel Caribbean Cup Final round taking place in Barbados. Some of these include a family fun day at Queens Park on Saturday, February 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the matches themselves football fans will enjoy performances of the Digicel Caribbean Cup song as well as pre-game shows, competitions, giveaways and more.

Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba and host Barbados will compete for the auspicious title of Digicel Caribbean Cup Champions. The Final round of the Digicel Caribbean Cup will also qualify three teams to the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 6-24 in the USA, and will also decide the inaugural Digicel Caribbean Cup Champions.

Along with qualification to the CONCACAF Gold Cup the three qualifying teams will also be awarded substantial prize. The winning team will receive prize money of US $100 000 with US $50 000, US $30 000, US $20 000 to the second place winner and third and forth runners up respectively.

As part of the Digicel Sponsorship package each host country received a subsistence package of US $20 000 and the host of the Digicel Caribbean Cup Final receives US $50 000.

We take great pride in being title sponsor of this inaugural Digicel Caribbean Cup and are committed to its growth, said Digicel Sponsorship Director Marguerite Cremin. Football fans across the region have been very responsive to our sponsorship and the performances themselves have been very promising.

Over 20 countries participated in the tournament in its first year, which start in October 2004.

According to Cremin one of the shared vision for the CFU is to raise the tournament on par with international championships.

The company is the lead sponsor of Caribbean sports teams including the West Indies Cricket Team, Special Olympics teams across the Caribbean and is title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Football Union Cup, which involves over 30 Caribbean countries and is an important qualifier towards the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

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