Former national footballer Nigel ‘Mice’ Cummings, hosted a children’s party in Silvertown on Monday at which he distributed one hundred and fifty backpacks containing exercise books, pens, pencils and other school supplies.
During the party the children, some of them accompanied by their mothers, were treated to ice cream, various finger foods and a variety of juices. The celebration formed part of the 2015 Osmond Cummings Memorial.
On the previous day, the Silvertown-based Botofago FC under 13 defeated its counterpart from Milerock 5-0. Rodwell Wong scored twice to cop the most valuable player award for his team while Acquil Gill , the top student for Region Ten in the 2014 Common Entrance Exam and nephew of Roy Caesar, a former Botofago player, who represented Guyana at the youth level, received a special prize of a pair of soccer boots. Adrian Samuels and Tyrel Lewis were the other goal scorer. Marcus Trudeau was adjudged the MVP for Milerock. Both teams received a trophy and medals.
Donovon Francis scored a brace in Botafago’s 4-0 drubbing of Hi Stars in the under 21 encounter. He received the golden boots award – a pair of soccer boots. Jashaun “Sarwan” Moore and Jermaine Haynes were the other goal scorers. Kevin Davis and Michael Peters were adjudged MVP for Botofago and Hi Stars, respectively, both received a pair of soccer boots.
Balls were also presented to the two visiting teams on behalf of the organizers of the Osmond Cummings Memorial activities.
During the presentation of prizes following the football games, Nigel Cummings thanked the patrons for supporting the Osmond Cummings Memorial Football Tournament. He also expressed appreciation for the support he received from his siblings, family friends, good friends and his deceased brother’s best friend, Linden Herod, the former longstanding Botofago captain, who returned to Guyana from the United States for the second successive year to participate in the memorial activities.
Herod, who also participated in the children’s party, assisting Nigel, Wilbert and their sister Alana to distribute the school supplies and goodies to the children said: “Next year, we have to make the party better. We were thinking of only children from Silvertown but mothers came with their children from One Mile, Half Mile and other neighbouring areas, demanding that their children receive a backpack. We had no choice but to give on to their desire.”
Nigel Cummings was under thirteen years of age when his older brothers Osmond and Wilbert along with Herod and other young footballers, including former national junior coaches, Gerald Whittington and Clyde Wilson, broke away from the Silvertown-based Broadway Football Club in 1970 to form Botofago for the then popular Brazilian Football Club, Botofogo.
The Cummings brothers formed an aggressive trio with Osmond striking, Nigel at midfield and Wilbert in defence in the Botofago Line up in the mid to late seventies and early eighties as the club became a force to be reckoned with in Upper Demerara football, producing a number of junior and senior national players, including Ivan Persaud, Fitzroy Caesar, Joseph Whittington and the Allsopp brothers.
This year’s Osmond Cummings Memorial activities like last year also featured a domino competition, organized by Wilbert Cummings, that ran simultaneously with the football matches. Ravens from Georgetown walked away with the first prize trophy and $40,000 while Organizers from Linden copped the second place trophy and $16,000. Bidders also from Linden received the third place trophy while Royal Champions placed fourth.
