New Gen rise to the top in Biche Village Cup

A new generation touched down at the Biche recreation ground last weekend, as the New Gen team won the Biche Village Cup football crown with an exciting penalty shootout victory over G-Madrid on May 16. 

The brainchild of Seed of Greatness - Biche Football Development School founder Denice Dedier, the two-week, hockey-post seven-a-side football competition saw as many as nine teams battling for bragging rights in the Biche community. Last year, G-Madrid had their time to shine when they copped Biche's Kings of the Court small-goal title with 2-0 win over Street Ballers. This year, though, G-Madrid were stopped in their tracks by a hungry New Gen outfit who took home the $2,500 top prize. 

New Gen players show off their winning trophy and cheque after lifting the Biche Village Cup on May 16. Photos courtesy T.Phillip Photography

New Gen got to the finale by hammering Ballers 5-0 in their semifinal, while G-Madrid had a much tougher road to the final as they edged Cushe Young Bloods 2-1. In the semis, it was Youth Player of the Tournament Darnell Walcott who stole the show for New Gen, as the Hillview College standout stunned Ballers with a hat-trick. Dijon Mootor and Emilio Thomas scored the other goals for New Gen in their emphatic semifinal display. In the other semi, Hakeem Byer and Roland Walcott scored in G-Madrid's win over Cushe. 

Seed of Greatness - Biche Football Development School founder Denice Dedier presents the Biche Village Cup Best Youth Player award to New Gen's Darnell Walcott. 

In the final, the Walcotts were back for more as both men scored as G-Madrid and New Gen traded punches in a game which ended 1-1 after 40 minutes of regulation time. Roland opened the scoring for G-Madrid, before Darnell found the crucial equalising item for New Gen. From the spot, Darnell and his teammates got the better of the tournament's best goalie Ashlie Harris to power New Gen to a 3-1 win on penalties as they walked away with bragging rights and the winner-take-all prize. 

For Dedier, tournaments such as these go beyond the fancy footwork or spectacular goals scored on the field, as it's all about building community engagement and togetherness. 

G-Madrid's Ashlie Harris (right) receives the Biche Village Cup Best Goalkeeper award. 

"The mission of Seed of Greatness - Biche Football Development School is always to bring (the) community together in a positive environment," Dedier told Ron's Sports Shorts. "This event's objectives (were) definitely met. Community members came together and the youths engaged in football in a safe and positive environment." 

The four semifinalists aside, the other teams to participate in the Biche Village Cup were: Airplane Mode - Mayaro; Holy Strikers; Simple Touch - Rio Claro; Street Ballers, and Youngstars. 

Next on the Biche calendar is the 2026 Kings of the Court small-goal tournament, which will kick off late next month. 

Gospel artiste Jaron Nurse poses with youngsters during his guest appearance at the 2025 Kings of the Court small-goal final in Biche in July 2025. 

Holder shines again, Titans go to IPL summit

Jason Holder's dream Indian Premier League (IPL) season continued today, as the lanky Barbados allrounder grabbed figures of three for 20 in Gujarat Titans' emphatic 82-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In the process, Gujarat moved to the top of the IPL table with 16 points from their 12 matches, with today's result being their fifth straight win in the 2026 season. 

Batting first, Gujarat made a modest 168 for five, with Sai Sudharsan (61 off 44 balls) and Washington Sundar (50 off 33) both hitting half-centuries. Holder made 11 not out at the back end, but it's with the ball where he and the Titans flexed their muscles as the Sunrisers were bowled out for just 86 in 14.5 overs. 

First, the pair of Kagiso Rabada (three for 28) and Mohammed Siraj (one for 11) rattled the Sunrisers in the power play as they slipped to 32 for four by the sixth over as the dangerous trio of Travis Head (duck), Abhishek Sharma (six) and Ishan Kishan (11) were all dismissed cheaply. 

Jason Holder (L) and his Gujarat Titans teammates celebrate a wicket in their IPL clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 12. Photo courtesy the IPL's Facebook page 

Holder joined the party in the 11th over with the key scalp of South African Heinrich Klassen (14) before having Nitish Reddy (two) caught by Sundar just three balss later. In his next over, Holder had Shivang Kumar (four) caught behind as the Sunrisers slid to 72 for eight. Ace Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan put the Sunrisers out of their misery when he had Praful Hinge (three) stumped by Jos Buttler.  

Holder's three-wicket burst has taken him up to 13 wickets from just six matches in this year's IPL campaign. 

Summarised Scores: 

GUJARAT TITANS: 168/5 from 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 61, Washington Sundar 50, Nishant Sindhu 22; Praful Hinge 2/17, Sakib Hussain 2/37) vs SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: 86 from 14.5 overs (Pat Cummins 19, Salil Arora 16; Jason Holder 3/20, Kagiso Rabada 3/28). Titans won by 82 runs. 

King's Trinidad and Tobago to face South Korea on May 30

Now that Derek King has been officially confirmed as the head coach of Trinidad and Tobago's men's football team, his first assignment as the permanent coach has been moved up, as TT are scheduled to face South Korea in a friendly in Utah on May 30. 

The South Korea friendly was confirmed today via a media release by the TT Football Association (TTFA), which also officially announced King's promotion from interim coach to head coach. On May 2, in an interview with I95.5 FM, TTFA president Kieron Edwards revealed that King was set to be appointed coach on a permanent basis, with the former Joe Public and North East stars coach being given a one-year contract with a renewal option in the first instance. 

After he was appointed the team's interim coach on March 6, King oversaw friendlies against Bolivia, Venezuela, and Gabon. TT lost 3-0 and 4-1 to Bolivia and Venezuela, respectively, while they lost to Gabon on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw in regulation time in their Fifa Series encounter. 

TT men's football team players and staff after collecting their participation medals at the Fifa Series in March. Photos courtesy TTFA 

And though the Fifa international window officially runs from June 1-9, King will hope to have a strong squad assembled for the battle with a Korean team, which will take its place in group A of the 2026 Fifa World Cup alongside Czechia, Mexico and South Africa. Korea will see action on the opening day of the World Cup when they take on Czechia at the Akron Stadium, Mexico, on June 11. In their most recent international friendly matches, Korea lost 4-0 to Ivory Coast on March 28, before losing 1-0 to Austria just three days later. To their credit, Korea did get respective 2-0 and 1-0 wins over Bolivia and Ghana back in November. 

After the Korea friendly, TT will take on Russia at the Kaliningrad Stadium, Oktyabrsky Island, Russia, on June 9. 

King welcomes the challenge ahead as he looks to forge a clear identity for his team. 

A king's touch: TT men's football team coach Derek King shows off his close control during a training session. 

"I fully understand the responsibility that comes with representing our country, and I embrace that challenge with focus and determination," he said via the TTFA release. "Our objective is to compete, improve and make the people of TT proud. We will work tirelessly to ensure that every time we step onto the field, we represent the passion and spirit of our nation." 

Edwards said King has shown a steady hand during his stint with the team and believes it's the right time to give the latter the coaching responsibility on a permanent basis. Similar to King, Edwards also wants to see consistency and a "clear direction" for the team.