RFA looks to corporate support as Champions league near
Jan 06, 2018 , https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...ampions-league-near/
By Zaheer Mohamed
One of the challenges that local sporting bodies have to overcome in order to host successful tournaments is the lack of sponsorship. In certain areas the lack of corporate support is the reason for shortened tournaments thereby depriving players of much needed exposure.
Transportation, meals, stipend, adequate gears, preparation of venues and prizes are some of the hurdles clubs and associations have to overcome from time to time. The aforementioned underline the need for support from not only the business sector but also the Government of Guyana.
It is a well known fact that some of the most outstanding athletes hail from rural areas and with this in mind, the Rupununi Football Association (RFA) is embarking on hosting another champions league from February. This tournament will involve 17 male and 16 female teams and is expected to be played at the Lethem Community Centre ground.
Secretary of the RFA Colin Henry told Kaieteur Sport that unlike last year when the tournament was played on a home and away basis, this year’s edition will see limited venues being used to limit travelling expenses incurred by clubs. He added that the Central clubs will play their games at the Lethem Community Centre ground with the top two teams going through to the semi finals.
“We will be looking to stage the semi finals and finals on one weekend so as to cut cost, this will prevent qualifying teams from travelling on a regular basis which is very costly,” he said.
Henry pointed out that despite the challenges faced by the RFA mainly due to the lack of sponsorship, 2017 can be deemed a success whereas a number of tournaments were held. He said that last year’s tournament started late due to the lack of sponsorship and it ended up into the rainy season. “Due to this more expenses were incurred because teams had to use buses as well as boats to travel to the venues due to terrible state of the roads, but we must credit the Guyana Football Federation for their assistance,” he stated.
Henry explained that in this year’s tournament they will look to give the younger players more exposure so they can improve when playing outside of Lethem. “The youths here have lots of talent, but one of the things that affect them is the lack of exposure and this is evident when they play in Georgetown and other areas away from home.”
One of the things we would like to see this year is training of coaches in the area. “Our coaches try their best, but they may be limited in certain important areas which are necessary to properly harness the young talent, we will be happy if something can be done in this area so we can produce more talented players,” he said.
The RFA usually hosts a number of age group tournaments and this year they will partner with NAMILCO for an U17 competition which will help to boost the game there.
Some 33 players from the Rupununi have don national colours in 2017 and the RFA will be hoping that the number can increase. Henry said that the RFA usually garner youths from all areas in the Rupununi to play the sport but this is challenging due to the lack of corporate backing. “Clubs usually hold fund raising activities since subscription is sometimes difficult for school children so we are appealing to the business sector for assistance as we look to drive the sport forward.”
He added that if they Government can assist them with two buses, this will help to offset transportation expenses since to travel from Mahdia to Lethem sums up to over $400,000, but clubs try their best because of the opportunities available for the youths. Henry informed that Mahdia couldn’t contest the semi final of a recent tournament due to the lack of finance to travel.
However, the RFA Secretary contended that they are looking forward to yet another successful Champions League. Guyana Rush Saints FC are the defending champions for both the male and female categories.