The Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground, Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown will come alive today as the ExxonMobil Boys’ and Girls’ Under-14 football tournament is staged.
While placement games are scheduled to kick off at 12:00h, the first semi-final, in the girls’ division, is set for 14:00h.
Then, last year’s third-place finishers Bartica Secondary will come up against the defending champions Waramuri Primary Top. The clash will certainly be an entertaining one as both teams have displayed their strengths in the tournament thus far. On both sides, team efforts have been able to get them through the tournament, but there are still a few individual talents to look out for.
In Bartica’s case, Nerismar Williams is one to look out for while Erika Harris and Brentia Marks are two to watch for, for Waramuri.
A glimpse of what to expect during the ExxonMobil U14 semi-finals today
The second semi-final at 15:00h will see Chase’s Academic Foundation and Leonora Secondary battling in the boys’ division. These two teams met in the very first round of the group stage in the 2024 tournament and were unable to one-up the other, with the clash ending in a stalemate. With the stakes higher this time around and a clear result needed, the battle is expected to be an exciting one.
The second girls’ semi-final is scheduled for 16:00h and will feature last year’s runners-up, President’s College, pitted against the new kids on the block, Santa Rosa Secondary girls. Throughout the tournament, Santa Rosa have been a goal machine, but they were tamed in the quarter-finals, registering their narrowest victory yet (3-0). On the other hand, PC’s girls have continued to find the net often and it will be interesting to witness whether these two teams can score as prolifically against each other’s defence.
The curtains will come down on the semifinal stage with Dolphin Secondary taking on South Ruimveldt Secondary from 17:00h, for the last spot in the boys’ final. While playing good football, both teams have surprised the competition getting this far, making today’s battle a proverbial clash of the underdogs.
The ExxonMobil U14 tournament is also supported by Stenna Drilling Inc, MVP Sports, and Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) under its Pepsi Brand.
The first to fourth-place finishers in the ExxonMobil tournament (both boys and girls) will cart off $400,000, $200,000, $100,000 and $75, 000 respectively for a school project of their choice.
