THE Pele Football Club’s Alumni as part of the club’s 46th anniversary celebration, will today present eight laptop computers to the National Library for use by students countrywide.
The Pele FC was founded by former national player and coach Lennox `Mullen’ Arthur, after

Arthur, a former midfield player left Santos FC and decided to form Pele, using the name (Pele) after Brazilian great `King’ Pele. This move attracted a number of youth players drawn mainly from schools throughout Georgetown.

Among the notable players who joined were Clive `Oiler’ Watson, son of the club’s first president, the late Frank Watson, who was an aircraft pilot. Sadly, Frank died in an aircraft crash in 1973, co-piloting a Cessna aircraft.
Others players that the club attracted were: Terrence Archer who served as the club’s captain from 1985 to 1992. Archer also captained the Guyana national team for a number of years and was an outstanding defence player.

Other outstanding players who represented the club and went on to represent Guyana at the international level were Wendell Manifold, who captained the team with distinction for a number of years; Patrick `Labba’ Barton, Ashton Taylor, Gordon `Ultimate Warrior’ Braithwaite and Terrence Haynes among others.
Two years after the club was founded in the Albouystown YMCA building, Pele FC became a dominant force on the local scene and subsequently won local tournaments at all levels of the sport.

In the early 1970s six of the club’s players received scholarships to Clemson University in the United States.
A few years later, those players who received scholarships to Clemson and a few others, who migrated, formed the Pele Alumni in the US, which is currently chaired by Dennis Carrington. Every five years, they return to Guyana and contribute not only to the development of Pele FC’s members, but other clubs and youth organisations with an aim of keeping youths involved in sports while encouraging Guyana’s youths to secure a sound education.
Current president of the club, Robbie Rambarran, Carrington and Alumni secretary Patrick `Labba’ Barton will be among other Alumni members handing over the computers to the National Library.