GULF Strikers, the 2014 LIME Street Football Challenge champions and Jamaica’s representative at the regional Guinness Street Football Challenge, returned to the island yesterday following a debut for the country in the competition held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, over the weekend.

Despite what has been deemed a commendable effort, the team lost 1-0 to St Vincent and 3-0 to hosts and defending champions Trinidad and Tobago on day one of competition on Friday.

On day two, they registered a penalty kick win over Antigua and Barbuda, but that was not enough to propel them further in the competition.

LIME’s Vice-President of Marketing Carlo Redwood who accompanied the team to Trinidad, said his company was satisfied with the overall showing of the team.

“These are guys, both as players and as ambassadors for Jamaica. They ensured their presence was felt at the competition and despite not advancing, we are very happy to have facilitated this experience for them and for Jamaica,” he said.

“I woud say we have achieved our overall objective of giving local players an opportunity to showcase their skills, and overall we are elated at the success of the programme,” he added.

On May 23, Gulf Strikers emerged as the overall champion over 14 other parish teams in Jamaica’s inaugural LIME Street Football Challenge. The St Thomas-based team was awarded $1 million courtesy of the telecommunications firm for their win, along with the all-expenses-paid trip to Trinidad and Tobago to compete in the regional championship.