Guyana 1st in CONCACAF to launch Football for Schools

In the interest of making football more accessible to students by incorporating the sport into the education system, the FIFA Football for Schools programme was materialised, back in mid-2019.
In addition to the sport, the programme will also equip students with life skills and is expected to be launched in Guyana within the week.
Not only will Guyana launch its programme soon, but the Land of Many Waters is set to become the first country in the CONCACAF Region to undertake the FIFA Football for Schools programme.

Currently, a team of FIFA representatives are conducting the Football for Schools workshop with Guyanese teachers at the Guyana Football Federation’s National Training Centre at Providence.
Speaking prior to the commencement of the workshop, Project Leader Alexandre Gros highlighted Guyana’s achievement of being first in the region to launch the programme, while articulating appreciation for the stakeholders involved.
“It’s a project that we’re launching in Guyana, for the first time in the CONCACAF Confederation, which is to say, Guyana is the first country to fully implement Football for Schools in the North, Central and Caribbean Region, ahead of USA, ahead of Canada, ahead of Mexico and Jamaica,” Gros shared excitedly.
He added, “So, I think it’s important to underline this and it’s due to the good work of the Guyana Football Federation [GFF].”
Gros went on to state, “We are particularly thankful to our colleagues at GFF and our friends at the Ministry of Education and also the Ministry of Sports in Guyana, for making it possible for us to be here today to launch the event.”
The programme is a collaborative effort between FIFA, the GFF, and the Government of Guyana, through the Sport and Education Ministries; and as such, saw consultation between the GFF and those Ministries during the implementation phase.
Education Specialist Olato Sam, who was part of those discussions and present at Monday morning’s workshop, praised the initiative, revealing that it would result in Guyana producing more-rounded students.

“This initiative certainly echoes that strongly. The fact that we can now have teachers here, spread across the entire country, participate in this programme and become master trainers, go back in their communities and schools and pass on these skillsets to their colleagues and ensure that our young people now have the opportunity to create that balance that is so vital in education,” the former Chief Education Officer shared.
He further stated, “Of course, we emphasise academics and we all can support the fact that academics are important, but academics alone does not complete the developmental growth that we would love to see in our young people in Guyana.”
Meanwhile, GFF President Wayne Forde sees Football for Schools as a “ground partnership” that will set a positive precedent, going forward.
The GFF boss related, “The FIFA Football for Schools programme emphasises heavily on the total development of our players and while many of you would have spent the past couple years of your profession moulding young people and helping them excel at their academics, you’re now going to be given tools and skills that will allow you to influence their overall growth and development in the field of sport.”
“We believe the power of partnership could not be more exemplified than what we see here today. This is probably the first time in Guyana’s history that we have a partnership that sees the full weight of the Government of Guyana, FIFA and the GFF, coming together to establish such a ground-breaking initiative,” Forde added.
The preparatory workshop, conducted by the FIFA team, is expected to last three days.