Expanded Brac cup planned

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 5 September 2016

The Brac Cup International football tournament will likely be expanded next year with more teams, as well as senior and junior events, organisers have said.

The event returned to Cayman Brac last month after a hiatus of more than a decade. It featured three teams: the Cayman Islands National Under-20 Men’s team, Cayman Brac FC and Johnson & Wales University from North Miami – which won the tournament.

Mitchum Sanford, the lead organiser of the event, said he was absolutely pleased with how the three-team tournament came off over the weekend of 26-28 August at the sports complex on the Bluff.

However, he said it is time to expand the event hosted by the Sports Association of the Sister Islands in two ways – by adding a youth cup, and by including more teams.

“Come next year for Bac Cup, we’re hoping to have that to a four-team tournament. We’re going to probably advertise the visiting teams in a few months,” Sanford told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

He said the youth event would likely be billed as the “Junior Brac Cup” next June. Like the senior event, it would be used to give local teams the opportunity to play against overseas squads and expose players to a different level of competition.

Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell, a Cayman Brac and Little Cayman MLA, spoke to members of the U20 squad after their 4-2 win against Cayman Brac. He said with Johnson & Wales University coaches being present, it was more than the result on the pitch.

“The plan was to bring coaches and scouts from US universities down. What we were able to accomplish this weekend, every young man under 20 years old in Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman that wanted to be seen by college coaches have been seen,” he told the young players.

Meantime, Phil Zayas, the coach of the Johnson & Wales Wildcats, said his team loved the experience of traveling to the Cayman Islands for a preseason tune-up.

“The experience was incredible; the hospitality was amazing…I can’t wait to come back. I really loved the experience and the Brac is beautiful,” he told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

“Obviously, being here and travelling abroad helps us to bond as a team. Overall, the level was good. It was a great experience and it was fun,” he said.