WITH the Guyana Police Force (GPF) ‘A’ Division partnering with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to host its one-day Under-15 football tournament, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud said that it’s the aim of the force to use sports as an integral role in fostering a closer relationship with communities across Guyana. The tournament is part of the ‘A’ Division strategic plan not only to foster a better relationship with communities within its jurisdiction, but also to create role models, and with football being the most popular sport, it serves as the perfect catalyst for such an initiative.
Over ten teams participated in yesterday’s event hosted at the Eve Leary Sports Club ground, representing their respective Police Youth Groups under the umbrella of the ‘A’ Division.
The Police Commissioner, while lauding ‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken, made a call to the other divisions of the Police Force to follow their (‘A’ Division) lead on the new approach to combat crime.
“What we have is a social crime prevention programme, with several fronts of operation; enhancing social cohesion and key among those is an environmental protection programme. All of us that engage in sports understand the competitiveness of the society that we live in, so it prepares us to live in today’s world,” the Commissioner of Police said.
Chairman of the GFF Normalisation Committee (NC), Clinton Urling, said that the initiative is a “clear manifestation between the nexus of sport and community development”.
Urling pledged the GFF’s continued support to the Guyana Police Force in helping to achieve their goal and noted that football, being the world’s most popular sport is the perfect tool to use in order to reach out to the youths in the community.
Director of Sport Christopher Jones spoke of the National Sports Commission’s (NSC) interest in any programme used to charter a course of social development.
Jones called for a balance between sports and education, stating: “God forbid, should you pick up a career-ending injury, you must find something to fall back on.”