“We’re not just hosting cricket” – Sport Minister Ramson

…as T20 World Cup is launched in Guyana

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 is now less than 100 days away from its bowl-off in the Caribbean and the USA.
As such, on Thursday, the tournament was launched in several host countries, including Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and the USA.
The MovieTowne Mall at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown hosted the Guyanese launch, where several cultural groups entertained the crowd, including recently crowned Soca Monarch Carlvin Burnette.
There, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr., alluding to Shamar Joseph’s success story, highlighted the opportunities that hosting such tournaments can have for the players and country.
“Had it not been for the fact that we hosted the CPL and one of the players in our very own country unfortunately got injured, Shamar would not have had the opportunity to play, and for many other selectors to see how brilliant of a talent he is; and then moving into the Regional tournaments and allowing him now to become world recognized as a talent coming all the way from a remote area in Baracara,” Ramson Jr. shared.

He went on to add, “A story that is also a part of our story when we also chose not just to host the event, but to make a decision of what kind of event we will have here by hosting the cricket tournament. We’re not just hosting cricket, we’re showing the world who we are.”
Lingering on the topic, Ramson Jr. went on to justify the investments made in infrastructure, reminding of Government’s intention to make Guyana a world-class destination.
The Sport Minister divulged, “Those are decisions that we are making because we know of the importance of our people and how important what we offer the world, how special that is. There are many places in the world (that) don’t have what we have; they never did, we always had it. And for many reasons, we weren’t able to tell that story.
“We will be telling our story at this World Cup and all the other events that we have the opportunity to host in this country, as we continue to move in the direction of being this destination for world class events,” Ramson Jr. further stated.
The Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played from June 1st to 29th, with the 30th being a reserve day for the final. Guyana’s National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) will host six matches, including 5 group games featuring West Indies’ Group C and Semifinal One.