On the eve of the start of the inaugural One Guyana President’s Cup today amongst the 10 administrative regions, President Irfaan Ali stated that the event is part of the government’s plan to integrate sports into the national existence.
Speaking at a meeting held at State House yesterday which featured several stakeholders inclusive of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the National Sports Commission, and the Kashif and Shanghai Organization, Ali said, “One Guyana is not only about unifying people, it is how do we bring together all dimensions of our society into building a One Guyana, one country, and sport is an important part of that.”
The tournament, which is being administered by the GFF, will commence with the intra-administrative region phase on Sunday. Upon the conclusion of the aforesaid section, 10 regional teams will progress to the main tournament which is penciled to conclude on January 1st. The complete format or fixtures for the tournament was not disclosed.
According to Ali, “I’ve been around football, I’ve looked at football, and I think we have the capabilities and capacity to get to the world cup. We will be using this brand to project football in a very positive direction, to launch a regional competition.”
He opined that football has the same capacity as cricket to act as a unifier amongst the populace, declaring, “This is why, in conceptualizing this tournament, I asked the guys to look at how we can bring every region on board, so it goes beyond clubs.”
According to Ali, all players and members of the respective coaching staff will be remunerated for their involvement, adding that players must be fully committed to the tournament while stating, “They can’t be playing in any other tournament; they have to sign on here.”
He further stated, “This doesn’t take away the community football and the small goal football.
That is an important part of community life and building up capacity. But, here is where you have a serious national tournament that is geared at identifying a pool of national players that will go into an academy, that will have a three-year engagement to ensure that they’re doing the right thing, that they are disciplined, that they’re practicing and having the right nutrition and they are having an opportunity to have a future after football.”
Meanwhile, the event commences in Region #10 at the Wisburg Secondary School ground with a doubleheader. At 13:00hrs, One Mile will oppose Blueberry Hill at 13:00hrs, while Block 22 faces-off with Central Amelia’s Ward from 15:00hrs.
Similarly, in Region #5, Paradise will oppose No. # 28 Village at 18:00hrs, while No. #5 will tackle Rosignol at 20:00hrs. Both matches will be staged at the Rosignol Community Centre ground.
In Region #6 at the Scott’s School ground in New Amsterdam, Lower Corentyne will oppose Central New Amsterdam at 17:00hrs, while North New Amsterdam will battle Canje at 20:00hrs.
