President Irfaan Ali hailed for visionary leadership – GCB

…Promoted Cricket Carnival as a trailblazer for Caribbean

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) commends His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali and the Government of Guyana for the historic Cricket Carnival Event held in Guyana which coincided with the hosting of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), 2022. The historic feature was conceptualized successfully to merge cricket and sports tourism thereby stimulating much interest among cricket enthusiasts from local, regional, and international levels. Under the leadership of His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali, the government of Guyana through its Ministry of Tourism will be driving the promotion of sports as a complementary tourist attraction to Guyana’s s wildlife, natural marvels, and other outstanding landscapes.

The Guyana leg of the CPL began with a doubleheader on September 21, 2022, when Barbados Royals defeated St. Kitts Nevis Patriots in the morning match, and the Guyana Amazon Warriors upstaged Jamaica Tallawahs in the evening encounter. This win signaled a turn in fortunes for the host team and evidentially contributed to the heightened interest shown throughout the Guyana leg of the Tournament.
The hype of Cricket Carnival activities blended effectively with a high number of ecstatic tourists throughout the hosting of the Guyana leg of the CPL. The massive crowds at all CPL match in Guyana, especially the second qualifier match between Jamaica Tallawahs and the host team Guyana, served to rekindle memories of past, high spectator support for cricket.

Additionally, the Government of Guyana through its Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and Ministry of Education must be commended for affording thousands of school children an opportunity to witness and be a part of the exciting CPL matches, most of which recorded sold- out crowds. Arguably, the children enjoyed the exposure and will easily fit into the GCB’s planned countrywide coaching program for schools.
Consequently, the level of spectator support is vital to the growth and sustainability of the game, in that it represents the quality and value of the game to its followers and provides children with an opportunity to observe and analyze the competitive approaches of teams and individual players. This stimulates significant interest among our future cricketers and adds value to the objectives and aims of cricket organizations.
President of the Guyana Cricket Board Bissoondyal Singh was high in praise for His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali and his Government for their significant effort in rolling out the cricket carnival plan. Singh remarked, that the executives of the GCB and affiliate boards believe that this concept has borne fruit and should remain a core component of cricket development and promotion in Guyana. Cricket is a career option for both males and females, and with the lucrative opportunities offered these days, we are of the view that the game should be marketed to facilitate support for local spectators and visitors to our country during the period of professional matches are being conducted. The cricket carnival initiative is a significant way to promote sports tourism, and we highly commend His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali and Government for a job well done. We are all proud of you.”