It is no secret that the constant spread of the coronavirus has seriously impacted sports’ activities worldwide, and now the effect has trickled down to Guyana.
Co- Director Troy Mendonca
Football Coordinator Troy Mendonca sat down with this publication to discuss the impact of the virus on the sport. Petra Organization, of which Troy Mendonca is the Co-Director, was forced to halt the 2020 edition of the Milo School’s Football Tournament amid COVID-19 concerns. In addition, many of the organization’s tournaments are in limbo as Guyanese and the wider world watch and wait for the virus to be contained.
A glimpse of the Milo 2020 action before it was put on hold
Speaking exclusively with the Evening News Sport, Mendonca shared that it is still too early to make a final decision on the state of the tournament, which was initially postponed due to political unrest following Guyana’s elections, and then suspended after Guyana recorded its first coronavirus case.
“It is early for us to decide if we’re going to continue or cancel the entire tournament, because we are yet to know how the coronavirus will react in these conditions, if the country’s going to get it under control. Whatever advice is being given by the public Health Department, based on that, we will decide,” Mendonca said.
Along with the virus come suggestions for self-quarantining and social distancing, which would directly impact gathering for and playing of football indefinitely. To this end, Mendonca shared that the uncertainty of containing the virus is unfair for sport in Guyana and the wider world.
“As you know, we were slated to have at least nine tournaments for this year, and again, because of the nature of the sport, which is gathering, that in itself will definitely affect us.
“Because we would have had our futsal next, then the ExxonMobil; hopefully, the Guyoil league, Pee Wee Under 11 Boys and Girls. So, you know, to have all those programmes on hold and not know what the future holds is a bit unfair to especially the players, and the sport as a whole,” he explained.
“But it’s a worldwide pandemic, and we have to wait and see where to go from here,” Mendonca went on to say.
The Petra Co Director went on to share that while the pandemic directly injures the staging of sports’ activities, it will also trickle down to group training, preventing athletes from practising in groups.
“Being a businessman and an organizer, everything basically came to a standstill, and it will have serious rippling effects. Being an organized sport, that is a real setback,” Mendonca explained.
Nonetheless, Mendonca shared that the Petra Organization is prepared to ride out the storm, and he promised that their long list of tournaments which positively contribute to the National Football set-up will be staged once calm is returned to the nation.
“Most of our events are grassroots, especially at the school level, so we will definitely want to continue playing. Because, as you know, over the years, there would have been a lot of players who graduate from our tournaments into the national grid, so definitely what we’ve been doing has a place in the National setup for the sport; so, definitely, we would want to continue to do our programmes,” Mendonca assured.
