THANKS to telecommunications service provider Digicel, six young footballers have been given the opportunity to emulate Alpha United’s forward Andrew Murray Jnr, when they participate in the Digicel Kick Start Clinic which will be held in Suriname under the guidance of former England international John Barnes.
Jason Cromwell, Mark Wronge, Jermaine Fletcher, Mc Curd Cramer, Romario Welcome and Troy Lewis all made their way to Suriname yesterday, where they will join with players from Guyana’s Eastern neighbour, among others for the clinic.
According to Digicel’s Public Relations Manager Shonnet Moore, those who have been selected following the three- day clinic to be held from October 9 to 11, will journey to the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, where they will undergo a one week tryout under the watchful eyes of coaches from the Barclays Premier League side Sutherland United Football Club.
“We at Digicel feel pleased to know that six young footballers, four of whom participated in our first ever nationwide Schools Football Championships which was held a few months ago, and we are confident that at least two of them would go on to participate in the one week tryout.
Having said that, Digicel who is strongly committed towards the development of sports in Guyana, would like to wish the six young footballers drawn from different parts of the country, all the best in Suriname and we urge them to put their best foot forward and not only make us proud, but Guyana, their community, parents and even the schools they attend as well.”
In an invited comment, Cramer who attends Waramadong Secondary School, said he felt excited to be chosen for the tryouts and while he expressed gratitude to Digicel for making this happen, he is looking forward to same as he intends to make the members of his village proud.
Led by Barnes , a former England and Liverpool star, the Digicel Kick Start Football Clinics began in early 2008 with tryouts taking place in Guyana, Barbados, Haiti, Antigua, Suriname, Trinidad, St. Kitts and Jamaica, from which Murray Jnr was selected to travel to the UK where he spent a week at Sutherland participating in an intensive training session with the club.
The clinics, which are run in association with the Caribbean Football Union, were developed by Digicel with the support of former FIFA Vice-president Austin ‘Jack’ Warner, who has been a huge assistance to Digicel in helping raise the profile of football in the Caribbean.
Since its launch in 2001, Digicel has become the fastest-growing wireless telecommunications operator in the Caribbean, renowned for their competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services, and state-of-the-art handsets, while it is the largest GSM operator in the region.
Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and has operations in 23 markets, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, Curaçao, The Cayman Islands, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and El Salvador.
The company is the lead sponsor of Caribbean sports teams including the West Indies cricket team, Special Olympics teams across the Caribbean and is title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Football Union Cup, which involves over 30 Caribbean countries and is an important qualifier towards the CONCACAF Gold Cup.