Courts plugs $4.1 million into 6th annual Pee wee football tournament

Sep 16, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...football-tournament/

Under-11 football rivalry is set to resume at Banks DIH’s Thirst Park this September as 32 primary school teams will battle during the 6th edition of the COURTS Peewee football tournament. The competition, which has seen major corporate sponsor Courts Guyana Inc. contributing handsomely this year, was launched yesterday at the National Library. Present at the ceremony were representatives from second major corporate sponsor, Banks DIH, who will be involved through their Malta Supreme and Rainforest Water brands, Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Ministry of Education (MOE), COURTS Guyana and Petra.
Co-director of Petra, Troy Mendonca, whose organization is responsible for the meticulous and successful planning of this Pee wee Football tournament stated at the launch that before the competition began six (6) years ago, “I was saddened with the limited amount of school football that was being played as compared to when I was a schoolboy which saw stiff rivalry.”
This year, the tournament has seen an increase of eight (8) teams from 24-32. There will be 24 teams from Georgetown, 3 each from East Coast and East Bank and 2 from the West Coast, competing in round robin action on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00hrs at Thirst Park.
The GFF is very supportive of football development at the grassroots level, according to the President Wayne Forde, but what they can do is limited due to financial constraints, “I’m pleased that the relationship between Banks and COURTS has endured. And with the expansion of the amount of teams, it’s indicative of the blossoming of the partnership. I’ve stated that the GFF can’t develop the game alone and initiatives such as these are very much welcomed. They have provided opportunities for players to develop and also as a means to identify talent.”
Marketing Manager of COURTS, Pernell Cummings, hailed Petra for their outstanding organizational skills, “They (Petra) have been doing a good job running the tournament and keeping the kids safe as they compete. I have never missed a Saturday of this competition since I’ve been with COURTS and it has been very exciting. This tournament has produced some talented players including four of whom have gone on to represent Guyana.”
Banks DIH, Malta Supreme brand representative, Clayton McKenzie, expressed pleasure with his company’s continued support, “Banks is very pleased to collaborate with COURTS in this tournament which has been very successful. This year we will be sponsoring through two brands, Malta Supreme and Rainforest Water, in addition to providing snacks on match days.”
Nicholas Fraser from the Ministry of Education stated that there were no problems in granting a no objection for this tournament, “The Ministry is quite pleased with the way the tournament has grown. And it is very easy for us to approve it.”