All Saints United have been crowned as champions of the 2023-24 Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League.

All Saints entered the 18^th and final game on May 5 on 46 points, trailing Grenades FC by two points.

They then defeated Garden Stars 3-1 in their final game while Grenades were held to a 1-1 draw by Ottos Rangers FC who played the ultimate spoiler role as their relegation to the first division was already confirmed before this game.

In the end, both All Saints United and Grenades FC finished with identical records of 16 wins, one draw and one loss from their 18 games.

However, by virtue of a goal difference of 55 compared to 48 by Grenades, All Saints United were crowned champions.

The top five were rounded out by Old Road FC, FC Aston Villa and Hoppers FC with totals of 38 points, 33 points and 29 points, respectively.

The ABFA issued a statement congratulating All Saints on winning the title as well as acknowledging the contributions of all the teams to a successful season.

“The ABFA Executive members extend heartfelt congratulations to the management, coaches, and players of All Saints United for their triumphant victory in clinching the 2023/24 ABFA Premier League trophy. We also commend Grenades FC and Old Road FC for their outstanding performances, securing second and third place respectively, and contributing to the thrilling championship race,” the statement read.

It continued, “this season has been filled with excitement, with the premier division delivering a nail-biting finish. The first and second divisions are also gearing up for an equally thrilling climax. We express gratitude to our dedicated fans whose unwavering support has made this season unforgettable.”

Joining the aforementioned Rangers in next season’s first division will be Sap FC and Empire FC who finished 13^th and 15^th, respectively.

Swetes FC, who finished 12^th, will fight for their spot in next season’s Premier league in the playoffs with Police FC and Attacking Saints who finished third and fourth in the first division.

Potter’s Tigers and Five Islands FC were the top two finishers in the first division and have booked spots in next season’s Premier League.

Individually, Old Road’s Raheem Deterville was crowned as both the season’s golden boot winner and MVP.

All Saints United’s Jayden Martin and Blake Thompson took home prizes for best goalkeeper and best defender while FC Aston Villa’s Tyrik Hughes was named best young player.

Grenades FC are champions of the 2022/23 Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League after a 7-0 hammering of Empire at the ABFA Technical Centre on Sunday.

Goals from Sherman Austin (1’), Tev Lawrence (30’) and Rakeem Henry (42’) meant Grenades went into halftime with a comfortable 3-0 lead. They then added four more goals in the final quarter-of-an-hour through Carl Osbourne (75’), Ridel Stanislas (77’), Keanu Barrett (84’) and Donovan Baptiste (90’) to complete the 7-0 score-line.

Grenades ended the season with 45 points from their 17 matches, two more than runners-up All Saints United who secured a 3-0 win over Ottos Rangers in their Week 18 clash.

After a scoreless first 45 minutes, Nazir McBurnette opened the scoring in the 64^th minute before Kendulkar Challenger doubled All Saints’ lead six minutes later. Roneba Cordice converted a penalty three minutes from full time to complete the scoring.

The top five was rounded out by FC Aston Villa (37 points), Old Road FC (31 points) and S.A.P FC (26 points).

FC Aston Villa were handed a 1-2 defeat by Swetes FC in the other Sunday fixture.

On Saturday, S.A.P FC hammered Cedar Grove Blue Jays 5-2 while Pigott’s Bullets beat Willikies by a goal to nil.

FC Aston Villa now stand alone at the top of the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League table thanks to a mammoth 8-0 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter on Friday.

Yasnay Torres ripped through the Blue Jays defense to finish with five goals on the day. His goals came in the 22^nd, 37^th, 38^th, 55^th and 68^th minutes while the other three goals came from Shahoi Dorsett in the 42^nd, Sean Tomlinson in the 53^rd and Joshua Ferdinand in the 91^st.

FC Aston Villa now have 37 points from 15 games to lead the table while the Blue Jays are 14^th with 10 points from 14 games.

Grenades are only a point behind FC Aston Villa after a 3-0 win over Ottos Rangers on Sunday. Vashami Allen opened the scoring for Grenades in the 10^th minute before the points were secured late in the second half through goals from Carl Osbourne in the 83^rd minute and Donovan Baptiste in the 92^nd minute. Ottos Rangers are ninth in the table with 19 points from 13 games.

Sunday’s other games saw Swetes and Greenbay Hoppers play out a 1-1 draw while the game between Pigott’s Bullets and Empire ended in a similar score-line.

In the first game, Rodney Lawrence opened the scoring for the Hoppers in the second minute before Shalon Knight got Swetes’ equalizer in the 65^th minute. The Hoppers are sixth in the table with 22 points from 14 games while Swetes are one spot below them with the same number of points and one more game played.

In the second game, the Bullets took the lead in the 19^th minute through Tyrique Thwaites before Rakeewm Joseph equalized for Empire in the 67^th minute. Empire are tenth in the standings with 18 points from 14 games while Pigott’s Bullets are 13^th with 15 points from their 14 matches.

The first of three games on Saturday saw Old Road get a 5-0 win over Five Islands to move to fourth in the table with 27 points from 15 outings.

Christhian Hereira and Raheem Deterville each got doubles for Old Road while Jonathan Shoy was also on the scoresheet. Hereira’s strikes came in the seventh and 68^th minutes, Deterville’s in the 31^st and 38^th minutes and Shoy scored in the eighth minute. Five Islands are 15^th in the table with three points from 15 games.

Game two on Saturday saw Parham secure a 3-1 win over Willikies. Parham took the lead in the 21^st minute through Malcolm Stewart before doubling their advantage four minutes before the half through Stewart again. James Simon gave Willikies hope of a comeback in the 57^th minute before Kenja Benjamin sealed the points for Parham 10 minutes later.

Parham are now 11^th in the table with 18 points from 15 games while Willikies remain eighth 20 points from 14 games.

Tryum secured a 2-1 win over Liberta Blackhawks in Saturday’s final game. After a goalless first half, Tryum took the lead in the 51^st minute through Chevel Cunningham before Curlon Joseph doubled their lead 20 minutes later. Liberta got a consolation goal in the 86^th minute through Abraham Barry.

Tryum are fifth in the standings with 25 points from 15 games while Liberta Blackhawks remain at the foot of the 16-team table with two points from their 12 games.

The game week will end with third-placed All Saints United taking on 12^th-placed SAP on Monday.

All Saints United and FC Aston Villa are now level on points at the top of the table after week 14 of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League held at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter.

All Saints United moved to 34 points from 14 matches with a 2-0 win over Willikies on Sunday.

Shafeeq Joseph and Daryan James got the goals for the new league leaders in the 57^th and 77^th minutes, respectively.

FC Aston Villa boast a similar record in 14 matches thanks to a 1-0 win over Piggott’s Bullets on Saturday.

The game seemed to be heading for a draw before Shahoi Dorsett sealed the crucial three points for Villa with a 95^th minute penalty.

Former leaders Grenades are now third, one point behind All Saints and FC Aston Villa after suffering a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Greenbay Hoppers on Sunday.

The Hoppers went 4-0 up in the span of 28 minutes as Rodney Lawrence (26’), Javorn Stevens (31’), a 45^th minute Chad Williams own goal and an Akeem Christian own goal in the 54^th sealed the fate for Grenades.

They got a consolation goal through Barrington Blake in the 56^th minute. The Hoppers are now fifth with 21 points from 13 games.

Old Road is fourth, nine points behind Grenades after a 5-1 win over Swetes in the week’s opening game on Friday.

It was Swetes who took an early lead when Shackwon Simon scored in the 16^th minute.

Stefan Smith equalized for Old Road eight minutes later and the teams went into half-time with no further goals added.

Things changed quickly in the second half as Jaheim Hazelwood gave Old Road the lead six minutes after the restart before a Raheem Deterville double in the 61^st and 71^st minutes gave them a 4-1 advantage. Jabarry Chandler put the final nail in the coffin in the 88^th minute. Swetes are sixth in the table with 21 points from 14 games.

Saturday’s other matches saw Empire beat Ottos Rangers 3-0 and Parham secure a 3-1 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays.

Empire’s goals came from Rakeem Joseph in the seventh minute, Nyque Watkins in the 13^th minute and Shemar Scott in the 45^th minute.

They are now 10^th in the league with 17 points from 13 games while Ottos Rangers are eighth with 19 points from 13 outings.

Parham took the lead J’Twan Brown in the 45^th minute before Malcolm Stewart doubled the lead in the 48^th minute. The Blue Jays got a lifeline in the 50^th minute through a Keon Greene penalty before Stewart got his second of the game in the 81^st minute to secure the win.

With 15 points from 14 games, Parham are now 12^th in the standings while their opponents are 14^th with 10 points from 13 matches.

Sunday’s other game saw Liberta Blackhawks and SAP combine for 12 goals, with the latter securing an 8-4 win.

Shavorn Phillip gave the Blackhawks the lead in the 28^th minute before SAP equalized through Tyrique Tonge in the 30^th. It was 2-1 Liberta a minute later as Louron Anthony scored before SAP equalized once again, this time through Danniel Osbourne in the 42^nd minute.

The only word to adequately describe the second half was ‘goal-fest.’

Fifteen minutes after the resumption, Tonge got his second of the game to give SAP their first lead before Phillip got his second of the game a minute later for Liberta to make it 3-3.

SAP then broke the game open through a Peter Byers double in the 73^rd and 77^th minutes before Tonge got his third and fourth of the game in the 81^st and 87^th minutes to make in 7-3, effectively ending the game.

Malique Martin got Liberta’s fourth goal in the 89^th minute but the scoring was capped off in the 90^th minute when Byers completed his hat-trick, the second for SAP on the day.

SAP are now 11^th in the table with 16 points from 13 games while the Blackhawks, with only two points from 11 games, are last in the standings.

Ninth-placed Tryum and 15^th placed Five Islands will do battle on Monday to close out the game week.