According to a missive from the Ministry of Education (MoE), Education Minister Priya Manickchand met with representatives of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to discuss the implementation of a FIFA-sponsored football programme in schools.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand is flanked by other reps present at the MoE-GFF meeting
Present during the meeting were Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alfred King; Education Specialist Dr Olato Sam, Administrator of the Unit of Allied Arts, Lorraine Barker-King; Assistant Chief Education Officer – TVET, Marcia Paddy; GFF President Wayne Forde, Vice-President Julian Lovell and Administrative Assistant and Lady Jaguars player Lakeisha Pearson.
Football for Schools (F4S) is a programme launched by FIFA in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It seeks to make football more accessible to both boys and girls around the world by incorporating football activities into the education system, and contributing to the development and empowerment of children. It targets children aged 4-14 inclusive.
The programme is being rolled out in all 211 countries which are part of FIFA. Guyana is the first country in the Caribbean region selected to pilot the programme.
During the meeting, Minister Manickchand welcomed the programme and noted that it aligns with the Ministry of Education’s plans to ensure that students are well-rounded, and graduate secondary school having been exposed to at least one musical instrument, sport, language, and TVET subject.
Some 50 coach-educators will be trained, who will then be responsible for training children from the age of four to 14 across the 11 education districts.
The Ministry of Education will immediately begin to look at the curriculum for the programme, to ensure the concepts that are intended to be taught off the field are age appropriate.
On the other hand, a message from GFF President Wayne Forde, posted on the Federation’s social media page, indicated the meeting’s success.
The message read, “As we continue our consultation with key stakeholders ahead of the national rollout of the FIFA Football for School (F4S) programme, it was my pleasure to meet with the Hon. Minister of Education, Ms. Priya Manickchand, and her team today.
“I would like to thank the Hon. Minister for her commitment to work with the GFF and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of this programme.
“The GFF and FIFA have been working tirelessly for the past year to establish a sustainable School Football Development Programme in Guyana.”
In concluding, the GFF revealed the intended start date for the programme, writing, “This programme will be officially launched at the beginning of May, 2022.”
