GFF launches KFC National U20 Intra-Association Independence Cup

At a simple ceremony held at the KFC Corporate Office on Vlissengen Road, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), in collaboration with KFC, launched an Under-20 Knockout Football tournament which is set to run from April 27 to May 20, before concluding with national Inter-Regional Member Association play-offs from May 31 to June 9.
Present at this ceremony were the GFF President Wayne Forde, Competitions Director Ian Alves, Technical Director Ian Greenwood; and Charissa Rampersaud, KFC’s Training and Human Resources Manager.
Remarking, Alves said, “The Independence Cup will take place in two legs; that is where the clubs affiliated to each member association will compete to become the regional association champion. This will be followed by the inter-association or national play- off, which will be played among the champion clubs of all the associations. All affiliated clubs to the GFF, through their regional member associations, are eligible to participate in this tournament.”
Asked how the under-20 football would tie in to the upcoming ‘junior qualifiers’, Greenwood said, “The under-20 football that is being launched is another key development strategy. We need to ensure that our footballers are playing. So it’s another strategy to ensure that our players are having up to ten thousand hours of practice. At the end of it all, we will be looking to select the best players for the U-23 team. We know we have a lot of key players in the senior team, but we are excited as, from the pool of U-20 talents, we can select the best to represent Guyana at the Olympics.”
KFC representative Charissa Rampersaud related that KFC is proud to be teaming up with the GFF to host the first under-20 football tournament. This tournament, she said, will see involvement of the GFF’s 9 regional member associations which comprise a total of 102 clubs. She iterated that the KFC family is very passionate about supporting “initiatives aimed at developing our young people and helping them become well-rounded, productive members of society”.
GFF President Wayne Forde said, “My hope is that this partnership will serve as an encouragement to other corporate partners to help us develop football in Guyana. We at the GFF have been working for the past three years to develop the U-20 football. I want to use this platform to ask the fans to come out and support the tournament. It is my solemn commitment to the KFC Group that we will do everything in our power to reciprocate value for the investment you are making here.”
Prizes for the tournament are as follows: first place, $500,000; second place, $300,000; and third place, $200,000.