Professional footballer pays visit to Guyoil teams

As promised weeks ago by sponsors Guyoil and Tradewind Tankers, a retired professional footballer was today involved in an interactive session with teams from the ongoing under-18 tournament.
Jorge Abukhalil, who has had a full professional career playing for teams in Chile, Spain and Florida, was one of the driving forces behind the inaugural Guyoil/Tradewind Tankers Under-18 league.
Abukhalil who is now attached to the Tradewind Tankers tournament, this afternoon expressed his commitment to the tournament for another year, and also took the time to share bits of career advice with the young players.
“One thing I want to say: don’t ever forget that this is a game. If you want to play (it) with your heart, do it; if you want to give your life do it; but don’t do it for the wrong reasons. Don’t do it because you’ll be rich, that’s the wrong reason. If you’re

going to play, give it your best, and I can assure you you’re going to make money; but that shouldn’t be your goal,” Abukhalil stated.
Speaking on behalf of Guyoil, Marketing Executive Ashmin John explained why the company jumped at the opportunity to fuel the tournament.
“Guyoil was initially attracted to this tournament because of what it stands for and what it meant to us. When we received the proposal, it stated that the winning teams will be undertaking developmental projects in their schools. And this is something that we’re in favour of, because they’re not just winning for themselves but they’re playing towards a project that will impact the entire school,” he explained.
Abukhalil also presented the Petra Organisation with a collection of footballs, which were in turn presented to the participating teams. Petra’s Co Director Troy Mendonca expressed his gratitude for the donation, noting that tournaments such as this would not be possible without the devoted sponsors.
“Our primary goal as an organisation was then, seven years ago, to revitalise the sport at a school level; and I think that our sponsors have given us the opportunity and privilege to do so, and we’re happy that we can foster a relationship going forward with our major sponsor Tradewind Tankers,” Mendonca said.
The tournament, currently in the eighth round, saw a packed day of action on Sunday. Queen’s College and Charlestown Secondary were the first to meet on Sunday. It was truly a one-sided affair, as Charlestown continued to excel on their newfound momentum while Queen’s College struggled.
Carlos Agard opened the game with a goal in the first minute of play, which set the

tempo for the rest of the 4-0 encounter.
Isaiah Moore and Raymond Bandhu contributed to the total with one each, while Agard later netted a second goal to take the score to 4 for Charlestown’s win.
Subsequently, Christianburg-Wismar Secondary School trampled Queenstown Secondary in a high-scoring game. Tyrese Lewis once again led from the front with two goals; while his teammates George Stephen, Randy Pickering, Felix Inniss, Andre Mayers and Kevin Dormick each netted one for Christianburg’s tally of 7.
Queenstown’s striking was the polar opposite of Christianburg’s, as the Georgetown team failed to net a goal.
Annandale Secondary maintained their tabletop performance as they registered yet another win, this time against Uitvlugt Secondary. Markel Matheson was the first to put his name on the scorecard, doing so in the 12th. Then Omari Glasgow and Tiquon Taylor joined in the 21st and 25th minutes, to push the score to 3-0 in the East Coast team’s favour.
In the second half, Colin Haywood extended the score to 4-0, but Ruben Dainty saved face for Uitvlugt with a goal scored in the 62nd minute.
The final match of the day saw a fierce battle between Lodge and Vergenoegen Secondary. Vergenoegen were on the scorecards first, with a goal off the boots of Ronaldo Macey in the second minute of play. However, Leroy Selery of Lodge hit the target soon after, to level the score; and an own goal on Vergenogen’s part gifted Lodge a goal that eventually became the winning one.
The league will continue today at the Ministry of Education Ground. At 14:00 hrs, Charlestown and Wismar-Christianburg Secondary will clash; then, at 15:45, Uitvlugt and Vergenoegen will do battle.