The LIME National Street Futsal Competition has attracted immense support since its kick off in late March.

The excitement of the competition will peak today inside the National Indoor Sport Complex with rounds of semi-finals and final games commencing at 5:00 pm.

The new, exciting and highly competitive version of football, LIME National Street Futsal, has formally introduced an internationally recognised development format of the game to Jamaica. In many countries across the world, the futsal format has been the worldwide platform for football development at both the national and club level.

According to Carlo Redwood, LIME’s VP of Marketing, futsal is an incredible way of exposing talents to football clubs, national programmes, as well as creating a solid foundation for a nation’s football future.

“We want you to experience world-class futsal and as such we have moved the venue to the National Indoor Sports Complex. Futsal is played indoor on a hard surface, and we want to give you the experience of an international futsal event,” Redwood added.

A total of 240 teams entered the tournament to vie for the grand prize $1.5 million in cash courtesy of LIME. To date each winning team in the 14 parish knockout competitions — plus the Municipality of Portmore — have taken home $150,000 in cash. Losing finalists at each level have also walked away with $50,000 in cash.

“We are pleased with the success of the tournament. The competing teams have shown great diligence and tenacity. It takes a lot to compete for the entire day and bring your best to the field of play every time. We are proud of the talent that has been unearthed during the tournament and look forward to a spectacular set of games on Sunday,” commented Donald Lyew, tournament director.

Fans at the futsal finals will be in for a treat, as LIME has decided to incorporate a rematch of the All Manning Cup versus the All DaCosta Cup team futsal style at the event. This match will be played immediately after the two semi-finals at approximately 8:30 pm. The Manning and DaCosta teams will have to garner knowledge of futsal as it requires a different level of skills, so it should be a fantastic game to watch.

“We expect a good competition from the Manning Cup team. Futsal is a different format from regular football, but I believe the boys will play a good match. They have been training and getting themselves acquainted with the rules of the game, so you can expect a good match up,” explained Miguel Coley, coach of the Manning Cup team.

Unfortunately the quarter-final round ended prematurely last Sunday at the Jamalco Sports Complex due to heavy rains. However, the telecoms company has advised that the three remaining matches will be played today.

“The remaining matches will be played prior to the start of the actual semi-finals and finals,” said Stephen Miller, sponsorship manager at LIME. The matches slated to be played are Portmore vs St James at 2:00 pm (only final half of 15 minutes left to be played), St Catherine vs St Thomas at 2:25 pm and Portland vs St Andrew at 3:15 pm.

LIME promises to deliver an entertainment packed event, from the quality execution to the after party, which will feature performances from Konshens, Busy Signal, the LIME dancers, giveaways and half-time shows. Gates will be opened at 1:00 pm; admission is free of cost, but having a ticket is a must. Tickets can be collected at LIME Stores in Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, St James and Portland.