The Petra Organization officially launched the fourth annual Smalta Girls Pee Wee football championships yesterday at the National Library on Main and Church Streets.
The event is set to commence on Saturday at the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) ground on Carifesta Avenue, and will conclude on December 16th. It will feature 12 schools divided into three groups of four teams competing in an initial round-robin format.
Upon the completion of the group stage, the top two finishers from each group and the two best third place teams, will progress to the knockout round. The remaining four teams will face-off for positions 9th-12th.
Trophies will be awarded to all teams, while medals will be presented to the top two finishers. On the individual side, accolades will be awarded to the Most Valuable Player, the Highest Goal Scorer and the Best Goalkeeper.
Troy Mendonca, Co-Director of the Petra Organization, declared, that Women’s Football should be treated with the same level of respect as the Men’s version, affirming that the organization is working on achieving the same level of success with the Girls Pee Wee Championship as the Boys edition.
“It makes us happy to pull off another tournament that will assist in the development of women football. We all know that physical education go hand in hand in making well rounded students and we’re happy to introduce this tournament to help foster that” he added.
GFF 3rd Vice-President Rawlston Adams said, “The GFF is happy to endorse this venture because it’s in line with their mandate of development of the game at the grassroots level and equally important, is women’s football.”
Ministry of Public Health representative Dr. Oneka Scott said that event is not only a platform for girls to complete and showcase their abilities, but will also be used by the Ministry as an avenue to sensitize the schools and the public on the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine and living a healthy life.
“On the dawn of launching another football tournament for our females, we are using this platform to also promote the HPV vaccine” she added.
Meanwhile, Smalta Brand Manager Sean Abel, thanked the Petra Organization for providing the opportunity for his company to be a part of the event, adding that their continued support of the tourney highlights their continual commitment to the development of sports at all levels.
Also, Nicholas Fraser, Head of Physical Education Department of the Ministry of Education declared, the event provides a platform for individuals to display and test their talents.
He further added, that the event’s format must be commended, as it allows for growth of the competing teams due to the amount of matches that will be played.
