Some of the most popular footballers to play in the Premier League gathered Tuesday November 4th to celebrate the launch of a new football tournament to be hosted in the beautiful Caribbean island of Tobago June 15th-22nd, 2015.

Former Manchester United star and Tobago native Dwight Yorke led a posse of top names including Ian Wright, Paul Davis, David Howells, Ruel Fox, Sean Davis, Paul Hall, Luke Young, Iain Dowie and Mitchell Thomas at the launch of the British Airways Tobago Football Legends Challenge at the Union Street Café in London.

“Today's launch is all about giving visitors from the UK and Europe the chance to come and see football Tobago-style,” said Yorke.  “As well as mixing with players everyone is familiar with, you will get a chance to relax in one of the most beautiful places on earth, play a little golf and enjoy the unrivalled hospitality offered by the people of Tobago.”

The British Airways Tobago Football Legends Challenge kicks off in June 2015 and will see 64 of the best Premier League past players locking horns in Tobago. The fast paced six-a-side tournament has been organised by the Tobago House of Assembly, British Airways, which flies twice weekly to Tobago and the Professional Footballers' Association.

Fans from the UK will be able to rub shoulders with the stars on BA's flights to Tobago ahead of the tournament. “We are excited to host this prestigious event and strengthen our long standing relationship with our friends in the UK and Europe,” said Tracy Davidson-Celestine, Tobago's Secretary for Tourism and Transportation. “Football might have been invented in the UK but I can promise you that we have a very special brand of fun-filled sporting excitement and natural beauty that makes for a unique visitor experience.”

Old rivalries will be reignited, said Yorke and other officials at the launch. Players from Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool are expected to face-off against All Star line-ups from the PFA and the Caribbean.

“We can't wait to be able to bring this fantastic event to Tobago next June,” said Bobby Barnes, Deputy Chief Executive-Professional Footballers' Association. “We are sure there will be a few old scores to settle as none of the lads have lost that competitive edge. We'll just have to make sure they take it easy on the rum punch!”

 British Airways is the tournament's official airline and has played a key role in bringing the event to Tobago. Colm Lacy, British Airways' head of commercial, Gatwick, said: “We're thrilled to be sponsoring the tournament, and we're really excited to be able to say that as of next summer, we will be increasing our services to Tobago from one per week to two.”

The event will coincide with a week of sporting activities, including the Dwight Yorke Celebrity Golf Day on19th June.

Notes to editors: For more information, images or footage, please contact:

Tobago Tourism Authority on nova@visittbago.gov.tt

Professional Footballers' Association on cburrows@thepfa.co.uk

British Airways Press Office on 020 8 738 5100 or at press.office@ba.com

About Tobago - Named for the tobacco cultivated by the original Carib population, Tobago existed separately from Trinidad for centuries. While the explorer Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1498, he did not land and no attempts were made to colonize Tobago. During British rule in the late 1600s, sugar, cotton and indigo plantations were established and thousands of Africans were brought to Tobago as slave labour. In 1781 the French invaded, but by 1814 the island was ceded to Britain. NB: The TTA is responsible for all elements of tourism, marketing and promotion of Tobago. www.tobagostyle.travel/legends

British Airways offers 7 nights at the 4.5* Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort from £949 per person for selected departures in June 2015 includes return flights from London Gatwick and accommodation with breakfast. For Reservations visit BA.COM/TOBAGO or call 0844 493 0120. Book by 30th Nov 2014.

About British Airways - British Airways is a full service global airline, offering year-round fares with an extensive global route network flying to and from centrally-located airports. It flies to a number of destinations in the Caribbean and has expanded its weekly flights from the UK-London Gatwick to Tobago twice per week, year round.

About PFA - The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) was formed on 2nd December 1907 and is the world's longest established professional sportsperson's union. The aims of the PFA are to protect, improve and negotiate the conditions, rights and status of all professional players by collective bargaining agreements, with 4,000 current and almost 10,000 former members. The PFA commercial department has developed significantly in recent years and is now very much a key aspect of the work of the union. With offices in London and Manchester, the variety of work now undertaken on behalf of both current and former members of the PFA is considerable.