KFC unveils new grandstand at MoE Ground

Teams, parents, and fans alike will now enjoy the comfort of better, sheltered seating accommodations at the Ministry of Education (MoE) Ground on Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown, following the commissioning of the KFC stands at the venue on Wednesday evening.
A $25 million commitment was made by the fast-food giant back in October so as to ensure elevated seating for the upcoming KFC Goodwill tournament; the stands at the venue were erected in a matter of weeks.
During the pavilion’s commissioning ceremony, KFC Guyana Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Subryan described the project as KFC’s commitment to Guyanese sport and arts.
Subryan highlighted KFC’s ongoing nine-year stint in Guyana, expressing, “And for a young company such as ours, we’re able to do fantastic things like this; it’s a demonstration of our commitment to the development of infrastructure for sports, for local arts. We’re very, very committed.”

“KFC is a brand that has embedded itself throughout Guyana, and in whatever way we can support our communities, we want to do that. It also depends on a budget, but with Guyana’s continued support for KFC, I think we can make it happen,” the KFC CEO added.
Coordinators of the KFC Goodwill tournament, the Petra Organisation, oversaw the project, as Co-Director Troy Mendonca was moved to reflect on how the idea was born. He also gave credit to the Government, highlighting the need for public-private partnerships.
“Every time, it was a set of tents we had to deal with, and we kept asking sponsors, ‘Look, we want to make these parents and players comfortable.’ Fortunately, we had a conversation with KFC, who I presume at the time were looking for how they can contribute to society, and so, this idea was mentioned to them, and they understood exactly what our plea was. And they fulfilled, thank you KFC,” he said.

Mendonca shifted his focus, stating, “It doesn’t only got to say KFC; this space here had to be provided by the Government, and the Government had to also support the idea of us putting lights here. So, the Ministry of Education has demonstrated how Private Sector and Government relationships can be built and nurtured in a way that supports our society and our nation as a whole.”
Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer (CEO) for Hinterland, Marti DeSouza, labelled KFC’s move as the definition of exercising corporate social responsibility.
“Now this is what corporate social responsibility looks like. It’s not all about taking; it’s not all about eating. It’s about giving back to our people, more importantly, giving back to our young people and what you have done in collaboration with Petra, I think, we at the Ministry of Education recognise, and as such, I want to give you a round of applause,” DeSouza articulated.
Fans will not have to wait too long to utilise the new KFC grandstand, as the Goodwill international tournament is set to kick off this Sunday, December 14, at the venue.
Defending champions Chase’s Academic Foundation, Guyana’s qualifiers West Ruimveldt Secondary and Annai Secondary, Trinidad and Tobago’s St Benedict’s College, Jamaica’s Kingston College, the Bahamas’ Anglican Central Education Authority (ACEA) Select, Jose Vieira de Sales Guerra School of Roraima State, Brazil, and the Suriname Technical School in Nickerie will be competing in the upcoming Goodwill tournament.