Caribbean News

The Reggae Boyz win 5-4 on penalties to take the Championship title for the fifth time

Monday, December 6th 2010 – Fort de France, Martinique: Jamaica were last night crowned Champions of the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 after beating Guadeloupe 5-4 on penalties in a nail-biting finale in front of thousands of spectators at the Stade Municipal Pierre Aliker in Martinique.

The Reggae Boys retained their Championship title for the second consecutive time with an unbeaten record in their Group I games. The Boyz beat Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Guadeloupe to make it to last night’s final. Although they lost 2-0 to Jamaica on Monday, the Gwada Boyz put on a different show last night and brought the game to penalties. The home crowd was left disappointed however after a gripping penalty finish when Lamboude failed to make it 5-5.

The tournament – which was officially launched with a glittering press conference in Trinidad on September 24th – ran over nine weeks and encompassed a total of 55 matches played across eight countries. So exciting was the tournament, that a record attendance of 5,500 thousand football fans turned out in Martinique to watch last night’s game, joining millions more watching worldwide on TV.

President of the Caribbean Football Union and CONCACAF and Vice President of FIFA, Jack Warner, commented; “I am delighted to be here in Martinique to watch what has been yet another thrilling Digicel Caribbean Cup final. We have witnessed some fantastic displays of the beautiful game throughout this year’s tournament and it is clear that the standard of football in the region has improved leaps and bounds since the launch of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. With that, I would like to commend Digicel greatly for its investment in the development of the sport, from grass roots right through to national level. Long may it continue.”

Digicel Group Marketing Director, Kieran Foley, said; “What a fantastic finish to the biggest and best Digicel Caribbean Cup to date. We’ve been privileged to watch some of the most talented footballers from the Caribbean compete over nine weeks culminating in an exhilarating final last night – testament to the development of the sport in the region. Furthermore, the energy, atmosphere and team spirit that have been displayed throughout the tournament embodied our marketing campaign entitled “23 Nations. One Goal” – which supported this year’s tournament. Congratulations to the Reggae Boyz, the DCC Champions 2010.”

Jamaica not only walked away with the title of Digicel Caribbean Cup Champions 2010, but also received a cheque for US$120,000 – the largest cash prize for football in the region. Runners up, Guadeloupe, took home US$70,000 and Cuba in third and Grenada in fourth place took home US$50,000 and US$30,000 respectively. The final four also advance to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.

Digicel announced its initial four year sponsorship of the Digicel Caribbean Cup in May 2004 and, in June 2007, extended its contract until 2011. Digicel has been involved in a wide range of football initiatives designed to support the development of football in the Caribbean and Central America. Digicel, which has operations in 32 countries worldwide, sponsors 17 Football Federations and Leagues, as well as the Digicel Kick Start Clinics and the Digicel Caribbean Cup.

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