Milo gears up for its 8th under-18 tournament

For the eighth year running, secondary schools’ under-18 teams will have opportunity to declare themselves the best in town by winning the Milo Football Competition, which was officially launched on Friday (yesterday).

Organised every year by the Petra organisation, this tournament gives more than 20 school teams from Georgetown and other areas opportunity to compete against their peers in a test of skill and wit. Over the years, the competition has seen “bragging rights” being attached to the winners and consistent top teams.
Opening the simple ceremony that launched this competition, Petra organisation Co-Director Troy Mendonca declared that once football is being played on the field, everything comes into play. He said that events over the past seven years have demonstrated that this tournament has been receiving great support throughout the years; and he urged the players, coaches and teams to continue to put their best foot forward in order to assist in development of football.
He said there is desire for the sport to continue being played in a better manner, because lads from all walks of life have passed through this tournament and are today excelling in football.

While assessing the positives of the tournament, Mendonca emphasised the importance of Beepats’ contribution to revitalizing football at the school level.
Also speaking at launching of the tournament was the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF’s) Youth Development Officer Bryan Joseph, who said he is happy the Petra organisation is able to contribute to the development of football in Guyana.
He noted that the GFF is currently preparing to ship off its U20 Men’s Team to the U20 CONCACAF Championships, and disclosed that some of those players would be participating in the U18 Milo tournament.

Nestle Brand Manager Shellona David said this event is highly anticipated, and her company is proud of the period the tournament has been played under the Nestle brand. She also urged players and teams to bring their ‘A’ game to the competition, since there would be lucrative prizes up for grabs.
The competition has attracted 24 teams, and will commence on February 15 and be run over a 10-week period at the Ministry of Education Ground on Carifesta Avenue. Teams will be divided into six groups of four and play a series of round-robin matches before the top two teams from each group and the best four third-place teams advance to the quarter-finals. After that, the youths will battle through the knockout stages to make it to the top.
The teams expected to participate in this competition are: The Bishops’ High, Canje Secondary, Cummings Lodge Secondary, Carmel Secondary, Golden Grove Secondary, St Mary’s Secondary, East Ruimveldt Secondary, Lodge Secondary, Charlestown Secondary, Vergenoegen Secondary, Kingston Secondary, President’s College, Queen’s College, Ann’s Grove Secondary, North Ruimveldt Secondary, St Cuthbert’s Mission, South Ruimveldt Secondary, St John’s College, Tutorial High, Annandale Secondary, Friendship Secondary, Uitvlugt Secondary, Marian Academy and Christianburg-Wismar Secondary.
The school finishing in first place would receive $400,000, while second place will pocket $200,000. Third and fourth place finishers would receive $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.