Petra Head anticipates exciting action at U-14 finals

Over the past month, both male and female Under-14 footballers from across the coast have showcased their skills and impressed onlookers with a number of thrilling match-ups, as such Petra Co-Director Troy Mendonca, who has noted that he expected no different when the two finals are staged on Saturday.

“It is by no surprise to us the level of play and competition we’ve seen in this tournament and we anticipate two great finals on Saturday,” an ecstatic Mendonca stated.
The Petra Head went on to note that it was a fulfilling feeling to have hosted this particular tournament, since the organisation has been advocating for it for a number of years. “First of all, I want to reiterate the fact that we’re happy that we’re able to do this Under-14 age group. Like we said over the past seven years we’ve been doing Under-11 and Under-18. And those Under-11 players when they excel at that level, they weren’t able to have a continuous programme,” he said.
He explained that as a result of this, many players who participated in the Under 11-tournament were back in Under-14 action. “And we saw a lot of those (Under-11) players on display at this tournament.”
Additionally, Mendonca spoke on the quality that the tournament has already taken on, even in its inaugural year. “We want to highlight the fact that there’s a lot of the national players who are in the Under-14, both boys and girls, that are going to be on display on Saturday.”
The players he was referring to were encamped in the Guyana Football Federation’s preparatory camp for two international engagements in August and September. Those students will be shortlisted and encamped again come next week.
The semi-final round of the ExxonMobil/Petra Under-14 tournament featured schools such as Chase Academy, North Ruimveldt Multilateral, Charlestown, South Ruimveldt Secondary and St John’s College. This, Mendonca said, was win-win for them, since they were focused on the all-round development of youth. “Seeing North Ruimveldt, St John’s and those teams excel in the finals is a breath of fresh air. Because we think that sports in itself can aid in the development of these youngsters,” he said.
The finals of the tournament will be hosted on Saturday, July 21 at the Ministry of Education Ground, Carifesta Avenue. The female finals will feature Charlestown Secondary and South Ruimveldt Secondary while the male final will feature Chase’s Academic Foundation and North Ruimveldt Multilateral.