ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, Nov 10 (GrenadaSports) - President of the Grenada Football Association, Ashley “Ram” Folkes believes the GFA/DIGICEL Football Championship is expected to bring out the best of Grenada’s football. Speaking at a press conference at the DIGICEL’s corporate office here on Tuesday, Folkes said that every football community will have an opportunity to showcase their best players. The GFA president was referring to the revised football league tournament due to kick off on Thursday with two matches in the parish of St Patrick. In an all St Patrick affair, Hard Rock plays Mt Rich at the Plains Recreation Ground and Chantimelle tackles Eagles Super Strikers at the Fond Recreation Ground. DIGICEL had already penned a three-year sponsorship agreement for the GFA’s Premier League but after the 10-team competition was cancelled after the first round due to Hurricane Ivan which devastated the island on September 7. But Folkes explained that the sponsor has worked with his association in enabling football to be played despite the difficulties posed by the hurricane. “They had already sponsored a competition that was aborted because of Ivan but what DIGICEL has done; DIGICEL recognised the need to fill a social and entertainment cultural void created because of the tragedy. They accepted their responsibility by doing something about it,” he said. Country Manager of DIGICEL, Patricia Maher said her company is excited about the new branding with Grenada Football. “We think it’s a fabulous idea and willing to support the GFA,” Maher said. The tournament will be run over a six-week period involving the 32 affiliates of the GFA, playing about 59 matches. On Saturday, the sponsors will stage a public launch of the tournament at the Cuthbert Peters Park in Gouyave, St John, and venue for a double-header. In the first game, Class Herbs Roots play Sun Jets from 2:30 p.m. while the feature game involves Premier League champions Carib Hurricane and Bernies Ice Cream St John’s Sports. The official launch will take place between both matches. Also attending Tuesday's press conference were GFA's General Secretary, Victor Daniel; DIGICE's Marketing Executive, Reece Sam and DIGICEL's Public Relations Consultant, Jude Bernard. It’s not the first time for DIGICEL’s involvement in assisting with football. In May of this year, the company and CONCACAF officials signed an agreement to support the DIGICEL Caribbean Cup, which is a qualifying competition for the Gold Cup for Caribbean teams. Meantime, the sponsor presented the GFA with 30 DIGICEL-branded training jerseys for the national senior team. The team is preparing for Group D of the DIGICEL Caribbean Cup in Trinidad, November 24-28. SOURCE:OECSATHLETE.COM