PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — The region's top international tournament, the Digicel Caribbean Cup (DCC), was officially launched here at a glittering press conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Thursday.

The Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 kicks off in Puerto Rico on October 2 and then travels to St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and the Dominican Republic to complete the first stage of the tournament.

In the second round, higher ranked teams — Cuba, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago — are seeded and will join the tournament in the qualification stage playing across host countries Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda.

The top two teams from each of the groups in Stage Two will join champions Jamaica and hosts Martinique, to make up the eight teams for the finals set for November 26 to December 5 in the Dutch territory.

To be played over nine weeks, a total tournament of 55 matches will be played across eight countries culminating in what is sure to be another thrilling Digicel Caribbean Cup final.

The champions for 2010 will walk away with US$120,000, runners-up will US$70,000 and third and fourth place winners take home US$50,000 and US$30,000, respectively.

The top four nations will also advance to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.

Also, tens of thousands of football fans are expected to attend the games with millions more set to watch on TV worldwide.

To ensure the Digicel Caribbean Cup is brought to as many people as possible, the cellphone giant has invested heavily in the TV production to broadcast the games across the Caribbean and outside the region.

All 39 qualifying group games will be aired in full across the region on an "as live" basis and all 16 games of the finals will be broadcast live worldwide by satellite. In addition, ten thirty30-minute highlight shows will be produced and broadcast regionally and internationally, courtesy of Digicel.

President of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), CONCACAF president and FIFA vice-president, Jack Warner, said he was particularly pleased with the rapid growth of the championship, which will be run by the CFU.

"It's amazing to think that just six years ago the tournament was only one week long with 16 matches. Today, we have a tournament that can stand alongside some of the biggest football tournaments in the world with 23 nations from across the Caribbean competing over nine weeks in 55 matches," he said.

Digicel group marketing operations director, Kieran Foley, said: "This has been an exciting year for football in the Caribbean with the Digicel-sponsored broadcast of the FIFA World Cup, the Digicel Kick Start Clinics and now the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010. With the launch of a massive marketing campaign entitled "23 Nations. One Goal", this year's DCC promises to be even bigger and better."

Digicel announced its initial four-year sponsorship of the Digicel Caribbean Cup in May 2004 and, in June 2007, extended its contract until 2011.

First Stage

Group A (October 2-6 in Puerto Rico)

Puerto Rico, St Martin, Cayman Islands, Anguilla

Group B (October 6-10 in St Vincent and the Grenadines)

St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat

Group C (October 13-17 in Suriname)

Suriname, Guyana, St Lucia, Netherlands Antilles

Group D (October 13-17 in Dominican Republic)

Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, Dominica

Second Stage

Group E (October 20-24 in Grenada)

Grenada, Guadeloupe, winner Group A and Winner of Group B

Group F (November 2- 6 in Trinidad and Tobago)

Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Winner Group C and Runner-up Group C

Group G (November 10-14 in Antigua and Barbuda)

Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Winner Group D and Runner-up Group D

Finals

Group Stages (November 26-December 1)

Two groups of four teams - top two teams qualify to semi-finals

Semi-finals (December 3)

Third Place Play-off (December 5)

Final (December 5)