Mendonca reflects, clears air on private schools’ exclusion

Milo Schools Football tournament…

By Jemima Holmes

This Sunday, two teams will be competing to etch their school’s name next to ‘2019 Champions’ in the Milo Schools Football tournament. While the action on the field is always exhilarating, work is also put in behind the scenes by the organizing committee, the Petra Organization, in order to ensure that the tournament is run smoothly.

Now nearing completion and awaiting what will definitely be the best match of the 2019 tournament, Co- Director of Petra, Troy Mendonca, took some time out to reflect with <<Guyana Times Sport>>.
Noting that this year’s tournament saw high levels of determination and dedication, Mendonca especially pointed out the teams in this year’s final.
“I think the two teams in the final, they rightfully deserve to be there; and I think that they’re two teams that schools should model themselves after, and we expect a very, very good final game because these two teams have been consistent over the years in school football,” he declared.

It is no secret that the seventh edition of the Milo tournament was for one little reason different from what had obtained in years gone by — the exclusion of private institutions. Looking back on that drastic decision made by the organisers, Mendonca sees it as a win/lose situation, but he is still of the opinion that it is what is best for the game.
“Well, definitely those schools had their following; but unfortunately, in keeping with our concept and model and what we want to do in schools, we choose to have Government schools,” Mendonca said.
He went on to explain that the exclusion did well for the exposure of public school teams, stating, “Because I think it can only augur well if we have a wider cross section of players and students being involved, and we would have seen the enthusiasm shown by these schools this year. So it’s a win/lose situation, and I think basically our decision was football-related. But I think these teams that we have here are a reflection of what the school system should be.”
Despite this hurdle, the Milo tournament has seen a number of achievements. For instance, several players who are involved in this year’s tournament and in years gone by are now in training camp for the National Under-17 team that will participate in the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship slated for May 1-16 at the IMG Academy in Florida, USA.
Speaking to this fact, Mendonca emphasised on the importance of grassroots programmes, such as Milo and many other tournaments.
“In any local setup, once you have a proper grassroots system, especially in the schools system, it would aid and contribute definitely to the national programme,” he explained.
He went on to express hope that Guyana’s football programme can continue to grow, especially to the stage where it goes hand in hand with academic excellence.
“Hopefully, in years to come, we can reach to a stage where we tie in academics with the participation of players within the competition. If you look at sports internationally, most successful systems have a backing with the academic and sport combined,” he explained.
Sunday’s seventh edition of the Milo final will feature Lodge Secondary and Christianburg-Wismar Secondary facing off in a true Georgetown vs Linden encounter. To this end, Mendonca expects nothing but fireworks within those 90 minutes.
“I think Linden, over the years, has demonstrated a certain level of consistency; likewise Lodge. I think Linden is a more rounded team, but in any final, on the day in question, it’s about who wants it more. I’m not ruling out Lodge. So we anticipate a very, very good finale, and also the third place playoff,” he said.
The finale is expected to be contested at 17:00hrs, while the third place playoff between Annandale Secondary and President’s College is slated for 15:00hrs on Sunday April, 14.