THE 5th edition of the Digicel schools football tournament kicked off yesterday with several weeks of keen competition expected to take place among the youths.During an official ceremony held at the football facility at Leonora Synthetic Track, Digicel Marketing Manager Jacqueline James and Director of Sport Christopher Jones met members of the teams before a short march past, after which Digicel Chief Executive Officer Kevin Kelly got the ball rolling.

Speaking after the kickoff, Director of Sport Jones told the media that corporate companies like Digicel help to promote sport at the grassroots.
“In the development of sport, corporate sponsors such as Digicel must be commended. This is a demonstration of exactly what we would want to see – other companies participating and lending their support to the development of sport.
“Of course you can see the participants here this afternoon are quite excited to be a part of today’s play.”
Sponsorship Manager Gavin Hope said that this year has seen a renewed effort to push the tournament. “We have seen that there is an increase or improved commitment to the tournament and we anticipate a good tournament.
“I just hope all of Guyana will come out and look at all of the games throughout the country and let us see our young footballers on show.”
In yesterday’s fixtures L’Venture beat West Demerara 2-1 with Dan Boston and Andeole Bowman scoring in the 62nd and 69th minutes respectively, while Jeiel Jansen’s lone strike in the 12th represented the losers’ consolation goal. In the second fixture in Linden, New Slivercity overcame hosts Wisburg Secondary 3-2. New Silvercity’s scorers were Tyreke McAllister in the 25th, Brian Johnson in the 50th and Shane Haynes in the 58th. Wisburg’s scorers were Compton Caesar in the 19th and Jermaine Moore in the 66th.
Play continues today with Mackenzie High taking on Linden Foundation at Wisburg ground, while Tagore Secondary and Manchester Secondary clash at Skeldon Community Centre ground. Tucville Secondary will host David Rose in game 3 while Grove will host Friendship Secondary.