The Caribbean Football Trust Limited (CFTL) will create a monumental event in the history of Caribbean football. In 2017 there will be the official launch of the Caribbean League Futbol (CLF) featuring the legendary Pelé’s Brazilian home team of Santos FC from Sao Paulo.

In 1972 Santos FC, featuring three-times Brazilian World Cup winner Pelé toured the Caribbean countries of Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago with much success.

Now, in 2017, 45 years later Santos FC will take center stage in a “Best of Three” games series kicking off January 27 at the Windsor Park in Dominica continuing January 29 at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Vincent and then on February 4, the final game will be played at the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Suriname.

The final game will be for the prestigious inaugural ISLANDS CUP OPEN and would be versus the newly established Combine Islands FC. CFTL is also preparing to offer fans a “Major International Friendly” bonus game featuring two major international clubs scheduled for February 1 in St. Vincent at the Arnos Vale Stadium.

Several International Elite Marquee players will be representing the Combine Islands FC team as guest players in all three games. The names of these players will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

After years of planning by the Directors of the CTFL and its partners, the Chairman and CFO of the CTFL, Chris Anderson made the announcement yesterday at a Board Meeting.

“This is a proud moment for all of us in the Caribbean as there will finally be a very high profile professional league in the region and our players and coaches can earn a living participating in the sport they love,” said Chris Anderson.

This announcement comes after support (as it relates to the concept and structure) was garnered from several regional associations’ presidents as well as Heads of State and Ministers of Tourism. The vision of stimulating the regional tourism product and placing focus on Sports and Entertainment Tourism as a main platform to drive their tourism products would be of benefit to the region.

CFTL’s main focus is to establish across CARICOM member states modern sports and entertainment complexes, including sports rehab centers and vacation/ residential estate homes. These will be targeted to multi-million dollar earning athletes and entertainers. CFTL is confident that this aspect of the project is of utmost importance for the region.

One of the major aims of the CLF is to fast track the development of young regional footballers and to show-case their talents on the international stage. This will lead to an improvement in the performance of Caribbean players whether at club or national level. It is hoped that this will result in more Caribbean member national teams appearing at FIFA World Cup competitions.

In depth discussions have been on going with entities outside of the CONCACAF region. These include entities from Europe, the Middle East and Asia with regards to investment and sponsorship in this new CLF Intellectual property initiative.

CFTL looks forward to finalizing the commitment of the first set of Marquee Players and Head coaches. These announcements will be made within the next few months in time for the CLF 2017 kick off.

The CLF shall be operational for a twelve weeks period between June and August of each calendar year. The first official competitive season shall consist of scheduled games three days per week: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, (all double headers) to be played in the selected countries in two groups of four clubs per hub. In addition to the regular season and its play-off Champions Cup titles CLF shall organize two CLF All Star Teams for annual friendly games at the end of each season to showcase the collective talent of the region. CFTL will host games in markets where international games are not regularly hosted.

About the ISLANDS CUP OPEN Tournament 2017

The schedule for the inaugural ISLANDS CUP OPEN Tournament 2017 will be as follows:

Followed by
• MVP presentation after each game
• Presentation of the ISLANDS CUP OPEN trophy after Game 4
• Tail gate party to include elite Trinidad & Tobago Soca artist Machel Montano and/or another International Reggae artist

About CFTL / ISLANDS CUP OPEN Charity 2017

The official CFTL Charity to be co-branded with the “ISLANDS CUP OPEN” tournament will be “KICK POVERTY OUT” a Charitable commitment established by the CFTL to provide school text books, footwear, apparel, sporting equipment, nutritious meals and scholarships to the underprivileged youth in CARICOM countries. Our 2017 Charity focus will be on Haiti after another natural disaster has left them shaken.

About the CFTL

The Caribbean Football Trust Limited (CTFL), a Division of Suncu Trading & Investment Group HK Ltd, Inc, is a new leading brand-building firm based in USA and Canada. The firm will open new offices in various parts of the Caribbean from March, 2017 to manage and/or advise various Caribbean Football Associations via executed contractual agreements with CFTL and its equipment and uniform kit partner, L-Sporto D.I.S.P. Italy.

Our Caribbean head office, located in Barbados, will implement and manage the CLF, only to the extent where the newly established franchises which will be based in various countries across CARICOM require individual attention.

We specialize in developing world class football brands, building Intellectual Properties, and brand building strategy, as well as re-positioning brands to achieve optimum brand-leverage and market-share in an ever-changing and dynamic global soccer business environment. This is done mainly through soccer federations/associations, leagues, players and clubs and special events association. Our network comprises an exceptional international skills-base, operating in a virtual network through our media relationships.

(CFTL Press Release)