The Leonora Track and Field Centre (NTFC) on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD) will come alive this evening when the ‘National’ stage of the One Guyana President’s Cup football tournament commences.
President Dr Irfaan Ali
Having started as an inter-ward competition featuring community teams competing within Guyana’s 10 administrative Regions, this tournament has now blossomed into the ‘National’ leg, in which 25 players have been picked to represent each region.
The ultimate prize for the 10 competing regional teams is Gy$2M, but there also are many incentives the Guyanese ballers would pick up along the way. This has been assured by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who has long explained that the tournament is of paramount importance to him. In fact, at the tournament’s official launch last week, the Head of State emphasised the benefit of sport to communities, the level at which he wished to have the football tournament commence.
“Now, I believe that sport is a very important aspect of national life, from many perspectives. Not only from a talent perspective, but culturally, socially, sports is critical. It is a unifying force, it is a transformative force,” President Dr. Irfaan Ali said as he addressed a gathering of corporate sponsors, football stakeholders and players at State House.
President Dr Irfaan Ali is flanked by players who will turn out for the One Guyana President’s Cup, commencing tonight
“If you look at communities that have a very vibrant sporting environment, you will see less social problems in those communities, because a lot of energy from young people is positively directed on the field. And sports, if done in the correct way, is the greatest teacher of discipline,” the President has reasoned.
“And this is what we need to understand, the sports family in this country need to understand, this is not just about going out there and playing football; you influence people,” the Head of State said about the players who are now going on to represent their regions.
With 20 group games scheduled before the tournament heads into the knockout round, the Head of State had an additional charge for Guyana’s footballers who will be on show.
President Ali said, “All I ask for is for total commitment to this initiative, and to say to you that we, in the Government, we are committed to working with you, advancing this cause. Matter of fact, we’ve already started discussions on next year’s tournament.”
The ‘National’ stage of the President’s Cup will commence with a clash between Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Region 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) at 18:00hrs. At 20:30hrs, the home team Region 3 (Essequibo Islands- West Demerara) will lock horns with Region 1 (Barima- Waini).
The tournament will continue on Wednesday, December 14, at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) Ground with Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) battling Region 5 (Mahaica- Berbice) at 18:00hrs, and Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica) looking to utilize their home advantage against Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) from 20:30hrs. (Jemima Holmes)
