ExxonMobil pumps $23M into inaugural U18 Tournament

68 secondary school boys’ football teams and 50 girls’ teams from Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and 10 will soon spring into action in the inaugural ExxonMobil U18 Boys and Girls Secondary Schools tournament.

Coordinated by the Vurlon Mills Football Academy (VMFA) with support from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), the oil giants have plunged some $23M into the countrywide showpiece.
The competition was officially launched on Thursday morning at Cara Lodge in Georgetown, where organiser Vurlon Mills of the namesake Academy underscored the importance of the sport at the Under-18 level.
Mills divulged, “We would understand that under-18 football is one of the most important stages of youth players’ development. It’s a stage where we’re moving beyond the fundamentals of the game to senior football, where we’re now learning to strategise, learning to compete and preparing to play at a higher level. For many of you, this stage can be challenging.”
“Without consistent competitive opportunities for you, we can lose confidence and motivation. This is what the ExxonMobil Guyana U18 is here to do, to bridge the gap from youth football to transition into club or senior football,” the VMFA Director added.
Speaking on behalf of the title sponsor, Community Relations Supervisor at ExxonMobil Guyana, Ryan Hoppie, expounded on why the tournament has received their support.
“The challenge has never been about talent; it’s been about ensuring that the talent identified is nurtured and given the right platform to thrive. And that’s why we’re very, very proud to support this initiative. This tournament enables development by providing a structured platform for both boys and girls at the school level to compete, develop and challenge themselves. It creates more matches, valuable exposure and more opportunities for young people to learn, grow and discover what they’re capable of,” Hoppie indicated.
Also chiming in was GFF General Secretary Pushpargha Chattopadhyay, who made a point about the tournament’s development potential.
Chattopadhyay said, “It is therefore with a strong sense of duty that we welcome initiatives such as this. We have said repeatedly that GFF cannot develop football alone. Football development is a collective responsibility, and every stakeholder has a role to play. It is in that spirit that I commend the VMFA for accepting this significant challenge of organising this tournament and creating another meaningful platform for our young footballers.”
The tournament has also received the blessing of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, articulated by Assistant Director of Sport Franklin Wilson.
“It’s important for you to take these opportunities that are being afforded you,” Wilson charged. “I can remember covering Vurlon Mills as a journalist back in the day and seeing the transformation he’s made. I’m very proud of that. You can see that sport and education are a natural marriage for your holistic development, and from the level of the Government, we will continue to support that.”
On the Education Ministry front, Head of Allied Arts Nicholas Fraser spoke to the plethora of football tournaments that students have benefitted from in recent times.
“We’ve had some discussions prior to the beginning of this tournament, and we’re quite impressed with the vision that this tournament is trying to achieve. I think one of the things we mentioned and admitted was that this tournament was starting quite large, and so, we’re also interested in ensuring that we have a balance between football and academics,” Fraser expressed.
He went on to opine, “I feel as if we’re in a golden age of football in schools. We have quite a bit of football being played currently in the school system, and it’s not a bad thing. We have the Pee-Wee, U14, U16, and U18; we even have an international football tournament that is held at the end of the year. So, I feel as if, at the school level, we’re in very good hands. There are a number of organisations who we work closely with to ensure we have quality football played, and we’d like for this tournament to also be one of those tournaments.”
The ExxonMobil U18 tournament will kick off today, Friday, October 2, in Region Seven with two schools doing battle in Bartica.
For both boys and girls, following the regional phase, the top 16 teams will compete in the Round of 16, after which the top eight teams will head to the GFF’s National Training Center (NTC) at Providence for the grand culmination of the competition.