The always entertaining primary school football returns this weekend as the CUC Girls’ Primary
Football League (GPFL) Opening Rally kicks-off the 2018 primary school football season on Saturday, September 15 at the T.E. McField Field (Annex Field) in George Town starting at 9:00 a.m.

The boys kick-off their season with the CUC Primary Football League (PFL) Opening Rally next Saturday, October 22, also at the Annex Field, and the CUC PFL and GPFL regular seasons will begin on Saturday, September 29 at venues across Grand Cayman.

This Saturday, the girls take centre stage as Cayman Prep defend their 2017 GPFL Opening Rally title.
Last September, the young ladies from Cayman Prep defeated Cayman International School 1-0 in extra time in the final of the GPFL Opening Rally. St. Ignatius Catholic School claimed third place after defeating Sir John A. Cumber Primary 2-1 in a thrilling sudden death penalty shoot-out.
Schools scheduled to participate in this year’s Girls’ Opening Rally include Cayman Prep, Cayman International School, St. Ignatius Catholic School, Sir John A. Cumber Primary, George Town Primary School, Bodden Town Primary, Triple C School, Savannah Primary and South Sound Schools.

The Rallies are designed to give players an opportunity to ready themselves for the rigors of the 10- week regular season following the long summer break. They are exciting, fast-paced one-day tournaments with games being a short 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.

Depending on the number of schools participating, the first round of play is usually round-robin with each school playing the other schools once. The second round is the knockout stage where the school finishing first plays the school finishing fourth and the school finishing second plays the school
finishing third in the semi finals. The winners of the semi finals play in the final and the losers from the semi finals play for third place.

The overriding theme for this year’s primary school football leagues is “all for development”, which is principally what the CUC PFL and GPFL are all about. A significant contributing factor to successful development is support, which is why CUC and participating schools encourage fans of “the powerful game” and youth sports to make their way to the T.E. McField Sports Field (Annex Field) this Saturday to cheer on the young ladies.

Special thanks to contributing sponsors Progressive Distributors, exclusive suppliers of Gatorade for the CUC PFL and GPFL

IMAGE:
Action from the 2017 CUC GPFL Opening Rally final as Cayman Prep (blue) defeated Cayman International School 1-0.