Marslowe confident Bartica football is progressing

By Timothy Jaikarran

The Bartica leg of the GFF-KFC Under-20 Knockout Football Tournament had come to an end, and the Bartica Football Association (BFA) will now turn their attention to the continuation of the Bartica Senior League, GFF-NAMILCO Under-17 League, and the GFF-Pele Alumni Under-15 League.

BFA officials are convinced that the GFF-KFC tournament has no precedent in recent football history at Bartica. They say football at Bartica had experienced a slump over a number of years, but is finally on the upswing again with the recent election of a new BFA Executive Committee and rehabilitation of the community’s main venue, the Bartica Community Centre Ground, which is soon to be completed.
Speaking with <<Guyana Times Sport>>, BFA President Alden Marslowe said, “The winning club from each league will represent Bartica is their respective national playoffs. However, our programmes are designed to be continuous, in order to promote general football development. Along the leagues, we will start Under-13 in the summer and will also boost the Academy Training Centre for younger players.
“Our challenge at Bartica is the availability of facilities. Rehabilitation of the Bartica Community Centre Ground is taking longer than expected, and there is only one other available ground for us to use, which is now closed due to rain.”
Marslowe also said football at Bartica has been down for many years, and this is causing sponsors to take a while to respond to requests for assistance. But now that the BFA is up and running again, he is optimistic that new sponsors would be pledging to assist football in Bartica.
He related that the BFA has, however, been getting support from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and its partners, which include FIFA and corporate Guyana.
The BFA president has promised that the BFA would continue to engage sponsors in a bid to convince them that football in Bartica is “alive and kicking”.
He said the BFA was at one point among the top associations in Bartica, and he is confident that, in good time, football will again occupy the exalted position it once did in Bartica.
Asked what makes football in Bartica different from what is being played anywhere in Guyana, Marslowe said, “Our attacking style of play makes our game very exciting; so look out for Bartica once again! One of our clubs, Potaro Strikers FC, will be in action in the GFF Independence Under-20 Tournament early in June in Georgetown.”
The clubs that would be competing in the three tournaments are Beacons, Lazio, Rising Stars, Potaro Strikers, Mil Ballers, Wolves United, Rivers View, and Agatash United.