Guyana: President Dr Irfaan Ali announced that the One Guyana President’s Cup football tournament is geared towards building the country’s capacity and experience in the quest to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
He made the statement at halftime on Sunday evening during the first game between Region Nine and Region Six at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora on the West Coast of Demerara.
“This tournament gives us the ability to bring together the best possible pool of talent we have in football across the country. So we can build a nice formula in which the vision ultimately is to invest as much as we can and to put all the effort we can in getting a Guyana team to the next World Cup.”
The President also spoke about his Government’s development policy for all sport nationally. In last night’s opening clash, Region Nine edged Region Six in a keenly contested battle that ended 5-4.
The Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal; the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr; the Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, and other government officials were also at the event.
President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday launched the ‘Neighbourhood Study Hub’ for children of Tiger Bay and neighbouring communities.
The Head of State emphasised the importance of the programme while speaking at its launch at the School of the Nations. He said that through the initiative, the youths from the area will be offered educational support and added that the project goes beyond preparing children to sit national examinations and addresses the overall issue of numeracy and literacy.
The programme is a partnership between the Government of Guyana and School of the Nations. According to the Head of State, this partnership also extends to the Tiger Bay community.
This project will also be implemented in communities across the country, including Bare Root on the East Coast of Demerara, Bath in West Berbice, Canje in East Berbice and Soesdyke on the East Bank of Demerara.
The President was joined by the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand; the Commissioner of Police (ag) Clifton Hicken and the Director of School of the Nations, Mrs Pamela O’Toole, as well as faculty members, students and residents from Tiger Bay.
Minister Manickchand urged parents to ensure their children participate in the programme.
