After five weeks of football action in Cayman Brac, the Anthony Knight Memorial Football Tournament came to an end after a highly contested final.
The final match, held at the Cayman Brac Sports Complex on Wednesday, 15 July, saw Construction FC and Perfect FC faceoff for the top spot, with Construction FC ultimately securing a 3-2 finish to claim this year’s trophy.
The annual summer tournament honours the memory of a former Cayman Brac referee and football fanatic, Anthony Knight, who was a respected official and popular citizen in the Brac community.
Mitchum Sanford, head of sports for the Sister Islands, highlighted the significance of the event saying, “It’s a great form of entertainment for the locals here in the Brac during the summer. It’s a community tournament, so everybody gets involved.”
“It’s fun and very competitive and for a great cause for a fallen friend, Anthony Knight. It’s in honour of his memory, and everyone looks forward to this every year,” he added.
This year’s tournament featured four competing squads, including Latinos FC and the Young Gunz – a young squad of 14 boys aged 14 to 16 and four under-25 men guided by Sanford.
“I put in my youngsters into the tournament this year for the first time and they did very well. The four under-25 men helped guide and strengthen the team and overall, the tournament provided more game time experience for the boys at various levels of play,” said Sanford.
The newly crowned champions, Construction FC, consist of local construction workers who have been in the Brac for more than a year working on the new high school facility.
Looking ahead, the tournament is locked in to continue next summer, but sports tourism in the Sister Islands is aiming even higher for 2027 with Sanford revealing ambitious plans to revive international football initiatives on the Brac next year.
“Next year, I’m hoping to start back our international youth football tournaments where we invite all of the various different countries like teams from Jamaica, Honduras and the United States,” Sanford shared.
“We’re also hoping to start back our international men’s football tournament called Brac Cup, where we invite the Cayman Islands National Team as well as colleges from the United States. That’s my goal for next year,” he concluded.
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