Contact:

Gillian Power

Digicel

+1 876 4708601

gillian.power@digicelgroup.com

LA COUPE DE L’OUTRE-MER CHAMPIONS, MARTINIQUE, HAVE THEIR EYE ON WINNING THE DIGICEL CARIBBEAN CUP 2010

Tuesday, November 23^rd 2010 – Kingston, Jamaica: With 16 thrilling encounters to go, the final eight teams that make up the Digicel Caribbean Cup Groups H and I all have high hopes of making it into the top four. Host country, Martinique, will play their first competitive matches of the tournament this week. The team coach, Guy-Michel Nisas, spoke exclusively to www.digicelfootball.com about the team’s preparation, their tough opponents in Group H and winning La Coupe de l’Outre-Mer (The Over-Seas Cup).

“The team has been training for about the past two weeks or so with preparations intensifying over the weekend. Although the Group H matches will be our first competitive matches in the Digicel Caribbean Cup, the team played in the La Coupe de l'Outre-Mer de football in Paris recently. La Coupe de l’Outre-Mer is a biennial football competition for the national football teams of French Overseas Territories – and former territories. This year the Martinique team won – beating former champions, Réunion, in the final. This has given them international, competitive experience – and, as winners, they are more confident going into the DCC.    

“Over the last few weeks, the team has played – and won – five friendly matches against local teams here in Martinique. The boys were tired after the tournament in Paris so they needed some time to recuperate before they went into more serious training. However, now they are ready and fit again and, as I said, feeling confident from their win in France.

“Group H will be difficult. Cuba, Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago are all strong sides and each present their individual challenges, but we have prepared and we are going to go out there and do our best.

“One of our strengths is our great team spirit. The Captain, Patrick Percin, who has represented  Martinique 46 times and scored 15 goals, at 33 years of age, is a fantastic leader. Patrick really represents the colours of his team and his nation and the team look up to him. Overall, there is a very strong connection among the team and this has stood to us. 

“For the Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 we have two main objectives. We want to be among the top four to guarantee qualification to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but obviously we really want to win the DCC competition and add to our list of titles for 2010,” he concluded.

The final matches will be aired on FOX Television in North America and throughout the Caribbean; the finals will be aired live on free to air TV and radio.

For more information – as well as ways to win with Digicel – log onto www.digicelfootball.com, and get the very latest news, images and results as they happen. The site provides all the up-to-date information on every single match and event relating to the Digicel Caribbean Cup, including match reports, team information and a comprehensive image bank from every match played. In addition, video highlights from stage one and two of the competition have been added and will display some of the best action from the top teams.

The full finals fixtures are as follows:

ENDS

ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP 

After nine years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has 11 million customers across its 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.

Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti and Papua New Guinea which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

In 2004, Digicel developed Digicel Rising Stars – an annual talent show to support aspiring young music artists in the Caribbean. The show has spanned the Eastern Caribbean, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago ranking as one of the top-rated shows.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.

Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information.