Brass Aluminum and Cast Iron Foundry Limited (BACIF) has committed to offering 12 apprenticeships opportunities for male and female footballers, as part of its package of support for the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Year-end Football Festivals.
This was confirmed by an official release from the federation yesterday. According to the correspondence, the announcement was made official during the handing over ceremony for the refurbished 2021 Super-16 Championship trophy, as well as Golden Boot accolade.
“Football transcends. BACIF is willing to accept, in 2022, 12 young persons as trainees on programmes that can see their development in the area of the various skills we are involved in. We have to look at the development of football and young people in totality,” BACIF Managing Director Peter Pompey was quoted as saying
The program will be for the duration of 12-18 months and will feature players from the various regions of Guyana. Individuals over the age of 18 that are registered with the GFF and its affiliates will be eligible for the program, with the final selection of proposed candidates being formulated by a selection panel.
Pompey also noted, “I want to punctuate my remarks by congratulating the leadership, Wayne Forde and his team, for the valiant work they have done and continue to do in the name of football. Football is a sport that can really take Guyana to a different place. We know the value of football across the world and what it brings. BACIF is extremely happy to participate.”
BACIF, a pillar of Guyana’s manufacturing and engineering sector for more than 50 years, will offer training in the following technical disciplines: design and technical drawing, pattern making, foundry technology, fitting and machining, fabrication and welding, and quality principles.
Meanwhile, Wayne Forde, President of the GFF stated, “We have made a commitment to ensure that our players are well prepared to transition from football into a productive life. To have 12 footballers, male and female, participating in one year to 18 months of training here at BACIF, learning very important skills that they will be using for the rest of their lives in an ever-demanding construction and engineering sector in Guyana, is historic in any context”
“I would like to offer our thanks, on behalf of the GFF and our players, for the warmth and generosity of BACIF. These are the initiatives and partnerships that can really have a lasting impact on the livelihood of footballers,” he added.
According to Forde, “We at the GFF plan to engage other organisations for them to provide similar opportunities to other footballers and we call on any so desirous to feel free to engage us. We are also looking at a raft of initiatives, including scholarships to local tertiary institutions like UG, GTI, GITC, Carnegie and other such institutions. Now is the time for corporate Guyana to step up and make a positive difference for footballers.”
“Football requires partnerships to grow. What we have seen over the past few weeks is a community of corporate sponsors investing in these tournaments to give young people the opportunity to participate in football”, he added.
