ExxonMobil makes good on U14 Boys’, Girls’ football rewards

Just a few months after their respective triumphs, several secondary schools from across the country on Thursday afternoon received prizes they earned at this year’s ExxonMobil Under-14Boys and Girls Football Championships.
The competition, which concluded back in July, saw the Girls’ tournament being won by Region Seven’s Bartica Secondary, while in the Boys’ division, Chase’s Academic Foundation retained their championship title in what were two exhilarating final matches.

During a simple presentation ceremony at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, the top four schools were presented with the prizes they requested.
Amongst those prizes were a water dispenser, flat-screen television, coolers, backpacks, school shoes and uniforms, textbooks, stationery and sports equipment which spanned a number of disciplines, including football, cricket, volleyball and basketball.
Reflecting on this year’s competition, organiser Troy Mendonca labelled it as “hard work” but justified it by noting that the tournament has an important place in the development cycle.
“I want to say that it was hard work from the inception. From meetings with the sponsor to coordinating the tournament and all the different logistics. Imagine having over 50-something teams in this facility at least for three Saturdays,” Mendonca recollected.
He further noted, “But the truth of the matter is, I think it [the tournament] plays a very important part in the lives of all these youngsters, boys and girls, because when you look at every single national team from U14, U15, U17, and U20, almost all of the locally based players would have played this tournament, and we personally feel this is a transition from youth football to our national setup. And so, this tournament has its place in society; it plays its role, and it contributes to the development of all you kids.”
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil Community Relations Supervisor Ryan Hoppie divulged the entity’s plans to further immerse themselves in youth development by marrying sport and STEM.
Hoppie shared, “When we talk about youth development and sport, we talk about balance. We’re talking about ensuring that we balance sport with education because we know that sport and other forms of education are important and necessary for the development of our young people. So, we look at the ‘and’ equation, football and? The ‘and’ equation for us is what is needed to ensure that we have well-rounded students but also players who are becoming well-rounded citizens.”
“We’re also merging sport with STEM, and so, we’ve started to pilot one of our programmes this year that will focus on football and STEM because we absolutely want to ensure that our students are well equipped for the evolving world that we’re living in. Guyana is evolving, our economy is evolving, and we want to make sure that even outside of the field, whether it’s in the labs, classrooms, or the halls of Parliament, we have young people who are equipped and able to hold their own wherever they go,” the ExxonMobil Community Relations Supervisor went on to divulge.
The winners of the tournament received prizes to the tune of $400,000 each, while second, third and fourth place received prizes to the tune of $200,000, $100,000 and $75,000, respectively.
In the boys’ competition, Chase’s Academic Foundation had defeated Three Miles Secondary 4-1 in the final, while in the third-place playoff, West Ruimveldt got the better of Waramuri Secondary, 4-1 on penalties.
In the distaff, Bartica Secondary pulled off a 2-0 win over Chase’s Academic Foundation’s girls in the final, while in the third-place playoff, Waramuri Secondary needled Marian Academy 1-0.