“Protect the brand” – Consultant urges Petra Organisation

With another edition of the KFC Goodwill International Schools’ football tournament done and dusted, the lasting impact of the tournament on youth football in the Caribbean is still being discussed, with sport consultant/scout Narada Wilson praising the quality he has seen.
During an exclusive chat with the Guyana Times Sport, Wilson discussed the talent in the goodwill tournament, which saw players from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Brazil, Suriname and the Bahamas competing.
He opined, “Overall, I think the tournament level is rising for the Guyanese teams especially because you have teams coming in from other parts of the region that are pushing the Guyanese teams to become better as well as for the region to understand that the Guyanese teams are not a pushover. So, it’s better for the Guyanese having home team advantage.”
Turning his attention to the other teams in the competition, “This year especially, I found myself with an average of at least 4 players on each team, especially the teams that reached the semi-finals, which shows me that there are about 16 players across the region that, right now, could potentially play at a second-division professional Brazilian club, and that is a good showing, especially for an under-18 tournament. “It means if we put them in that setting for about a year, these are players that would probably sign a professional contract anywhere in the world right now.”

With the recently concluded sixth edition of the competition being expanded to include teams from the Bahamas and Brazil, Wilson encouraged more expansion, urging organisers, Petra, to protect the brand they have built.
“It is very important,” Wilson said about having such a competition in the region. “I think, at this point, Guyana is leading the charge with that. This tournament is probably the premier Under-18 tournament in our region, and Guyana has to take a lot of credit for that and realise that this is where the benchmark is. Don’t allow that to be fizzled, don’t let it change, and protect the brand.”
The scout continued, “Petra and KFC, as well as the ministries, keep expanding it because you’re bringing foreign talent into the country, and the country will benefit from that. We are also showing what other countries do, where they have large populations, so they have a larger pool to choose from. Our pool is a bit reduced because we’re small islands, but if we collectively come together, it can happen.”
Already, the organisers are exploring the inclusion of teams from French Guiana, Colombia and the United States for the next instalment.