- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 01/Jul 03:28

Central Bank’s defence pays futsal dividends

Central Bank was open for a special deposit on Sunday after its futsal team completed a dominating performance in the Trinbago Futsal Corporate Cup, cashing in on the $12,000 first prize, at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Tacarigua. Goals by skipper Adrian Millette and Kirk Abraham gave Central Bank a 2-0 victory, leaving their opponents, South West Regional All Stars (South Doctors), feeling a bit ill after the final whistle on June 29. In an interview with Newsday on June 30, Millette, sounding a bit hoarse, said he was still recovering from the celebrations the previous day. On their unbeaten showing, Millette said their defensive approach and mindset paid tremendous dividends. What was the plan going into the final? "Same thing that we practised. Don't concede, and we must score one," he said. "We did it undefeated. We won this competition without losing a game. It was something we had in mind from last time when we lost the finals in the last corporate cup. The mood is very, very high. We had a couple training sessions preparing for this tournament and seeing as it paid off, it feels good." Central Bank ended the group phase second in Group A with two wins and three draws, Was he surprised that they didn't lose a single game throughout the tournament? "No, no, no. Part of our practice is not conceding, trying to concede as less as possible. Defensively we are pretty strong, so it's just for us to take our chances and we knew for sure nobody in the competition could beat us." He heaped praises on tournament organisers for a professionally run few weeks of action, taking 12 teams across three venues culminating in an exciting final. "This tournament has been nothing less than exciting," Millette said. "From the first tournament to now, 868 futsal and the Trinbago Legaue, they put on a show for everyone. It was very well organised. Their communication was beyond good. It's just to help grow TT football to something bigger than what it is right now." Millette also praised his employers for understanding the importance of sport in improving mental health in the workplace. "Central Bank leads in extra-curricular activities and the work-life balance. We also participate in the inter-bank football league every year. We also have a lot of other disciplines like netball, volleyball that we compete in. It's something that we encourage as a corporate body." Geoffrey Edwards, president of TT Futsal Association, said the objectives of the tournament were achieved. [caption id="attachment_1163881" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Central Bnak, winners of the 2025 Futsal Corporate Cup, celebrate at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Tacarigua, June 29. - Photo by Jerome McClean Photography[/caption] "We had simple KPIs (key performance indicators). One was to put on a tournament where logistics ran smoothly. Simple as it may sound, starting on time was important," he said. He said their next aim was to have a "well-marketed league, in terms of brand visibility, brand consistency that will allow the players, patrons and TT to see sport in a new light." He said there was also an uptick in league's social media following. "We were able to achieve these things through our partnership with organisations such as event management company Asyoulikeit Events; Newsday, our official press partner; the Interception team; Jerome McClean Photography; the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and Sport Company, for use of their facilities." He said he is already thinking about their next event, the Trinbago Futsal League Charity Cup, tentatively scheduled for the end of November. Its theme will be Orange the Game, as part of global 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence. Edwards said the message through sport holds special significance to him as one of his close friends and her mother were victims of domestic violence last year. "This is important to me from a personal and sporting standpoint," Edwards said.   The post Central Bank’s defence pays futsal dividends appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.