Young footballers applaud the One Guyana President’s Cup

─ South Ruimveldt/Tucville prevailed over Timehri/Soesdyke

The One Guyana President’s cup continued Sunday at the Guyana Football Federation, National Training Centre at Providence on the East Bank of Demerara.

Guyana’s National Goalkeeper, Akel Clarke, as well as a wide cross-section of national, young and upcoming players from several communities, played an imposing game, which saw combined South Ruimveldt / Tucville, edge out Timehri / Soesdyke in the Region 4, Inter Ward – Inter Zone Fixture.

Even though only one team will emerge as the victor in this round, Guyana’s current and future football players applauded the president’s initiative.

“I think this is a great initiative and since I have been playing football, I have never seen something like this; I think as a footballer [this] is a great start for up-and-coming youths, I think it is something good… that they can actually have something to earn from playing this game, and I think it is a really good initiative from the president, and I would like to thank him for that…” Clarke said.

One of the young and up-coming players from Timehri – Soesdyke, Shakim Welcome, who plays the centre-back position on his team, said that being able to play in the tournament made him feel great.

“It opens more opportunities for me as a youth to be able to get noticed from scouts and I think it is a great opportunity for me… it is also a nice experience playing with the senior players…”, he said.

Meanwhile, one of Guyana’s well-known national football players, Jeremy Garrett shared his sentiments after the game.

“First of all, I think it is a very good initiative because it gives a lot of youths the chance to play in their communities. Youths who might never have a chance to play in a club in the area, now have a chance to represent their communities and get a shot to represent their regions – so it is a good initiative to get the youths onboard…” Garrett said.

The inaugural One Guyana President’s Cup football tournament kicked off on Sunday, November 13 in Region Two, at the Anna Regina Multilateral School ground.

The initiative came about following a meeting of football stakeholders hosted by the President and led by Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde. The meeting was held to discuss the implementation of a countrywide end-of-year football tournament -culminating on New Year’s Day.