Hall of famer granted land for long awaited sport academy

— Gov’t pleased with project, 1000’s guaranteed jobs

Alexander ‘Alex’ Burnbury’s push for the establishment of a sport academy was given a major boost when the government of Guyana granted a plot of land for the project at a simple briefing at the Savannah Suites, Pegasus on Friday.
The legendary footballer, who is working through his organization, ‘Alex Bunbury Sports and Academic Academy’ (ABSAA), was officially granted the plot of land located in Ituni, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) and according to the drawing plan of the project, it is expected to be a state of the art facility with a stadium with a capacity of up to 24,000.
Bunbury said that through this initiative Guyana will become the spotlight of the region and be right up there with the big teams.
Speaking of behalf of the Government, Minister within the Ministry of Education with responsibility of Sport, Nicolette Henry pointed out that the Administration is proud to partner with this initiative and can see a bright future for sports coming from this programme.
“The Government is proud to be part of this and the plan is to have a plot of land located in Ituni to be given to this project where a modern state f the art facility is intended to be located to meet the needs of many Guyanese people in many sporting disciplines.” the Minister

noted.
Further adding that Alex’s story is one that shows what happens when youths are invested in, this being one of the reasons why the project was given the green light.
Bunbury indicated that his plan is to move Guyana into the 21st century and give the opportunity for every young sport person to grow, adding that he is not here for any other reason but for the love of giving back to his beloved country.
“This facility and this initiative are here for Guyana to give them a safe heaven and become the next Alex Bunbury and go beyond that,” the former striker said.
The footballing hall of famer, who came out of the small community of Plaisance on the East Coast of Demerara, highlighted that it was a privilege for him to have the opportunity to come home and set up an academy that is tailored for all sporting disciplines
While Bunbury could not put a definitive date as to the dead line of the project, he indicated that he will not be sacrificing solid and proper work for a speedy start, noting that it is important to dot the I’s and cross the T’s.
The significance of the project goes beyond just having a facility. It will attract over 1000 jobs for people as well as a standard training and education equivalent to the other top countries.
The minister highlighted that the land was not a quite a donation but rather making a space available and the government’s support will evolve as the project advances.
Burnbury began his career at the age of 18 with the Hamilton Steelers of the CSL (Canadian Soccer League). He played in the CSL until age 23. In 1992, he was contracted by West Ham United of the English 1st Division (currently the premier league). In 1993, he was bought by Club Maritimo in the Portuguese 1st Division. Alex played there for 7 years and became their all-time leading scorer to this day.
In 1994, he was honored as the Foreign Player of the Year. Maritimo was a multiple UEFA league participant playing against the likes of Juventus and Leads United, and players such as Italian legends Roberto Baggio and Jean Luca Vialli. Alex was part of the team that represented Maritimo in the 1st ever Portuguese League Cup Championship game in team history against Portuguese power-house Sporting FC in 1995.
He was honored as player of the year for Maritimo for four consecutive years. Additionally, Alex was awarded Personality of the Year on the island of Madeira- one of the islands’ biggest honors. He founded a youth development program called Esfuma in 1996/97 that was designed to help underprivileged children in remote areas of the island, as well as children from the city; Esfuma is still currently active. In addition, Alex was honored to be one of the first athletes to receive a major endorsement (soft drink Brisa) on the island.
Bunbury represented the Canadian National Team 67 times and is currently their 4th all-time leading scorer. He is currently the all-time leading scorer for Canada in world cup qualifying matches with 14 goals. Additionally, he was the 1st player in Canadian history to score 3 goals in a world cup qualifying game. He was the first player in Canadian history to win Canadian player of the year, an honor twice bestowed.