FOLLOWING the successful hosting of the Banks DIH-sponsored Coca Cola Premier League late last year, the East Bank Demerara Football Association (EBDFA), under the stewardship of Wayne Francois, has outlined its plans for this year.
Among some of the programmes earmarked are: Development of facilities within the sub-associations of the EBDFA, along with an Administration and Management Seminar, Referees and First Aid Courses and a Discipline and Etiquette workshop.
Looking back at last year, Francois said it was a very successful year for his association, since they managed to achieve a lot both on and off the field of play, despite the minimum resources they had to work with.
“With God’s guidance, we were able to achieve a lot last year, even though we were handicapped in some areas.
“One of the big surpluses for us was the running off of the Coca Cola Premier League after a long time, while two of our representatives participated in an Administrative Course and Management Training Seminar which was conducted under the supervision of the Guyana Football Federation through their parent body FIFA,” stated Francois.
With regard to facilities, Francois said his association worked with the Eccles/Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council to get the green light to open an office at the Providence Community Centre.  Developmental work was also completed on the playfield.
Kuru Kururu Warriors, one of the top teams competing under the EBDFA, won the James Herbert knockout competition, with Kuru Kururu Lions, Grove Hi-Tech and Timehri Panthers finishing second, third and fourth respectively, in competitions that were organised by the EBDFA.
Eight schools competed in the inaugural Digicel-sponsored Inter-secondary school competition, with Friendship Secondary advancing to the Region 4 final, while the annual Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport-sponsored Inter-block tournament witnessed 21 teams participating.
Francois said the EBDFA participated in the GFF Inter-association Under-15 competition but failed to advance to the knockout stage while 10 teams competed in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company-sponsored FastBall competition with Grove Hi-Tech advancing to the round of 16 after they won the EBDFA leg.
Touching on the Coca Cola Premier League which saw matches played at both the Banks DIH Thirst Park and Diamond Community Centre grounds, Francois said seven clubs participated and Banks DIH came out victorious over Grove Hi-Tech.
With regard to tournaments that were not organised by the EBDFA, Francois, who was elected to administer football in the area until 2013, said teams from the Association were invited to compete in several tournaments, including the Mackeson Stout/Digicel Sweet 16, Annual Mayor’s Cup and the Kashif and Shanghai Football Festival.
His association also met and held fruitful discussions with the GFF at the Providence Community Centre ground, where the parent body shared its vision and that of FIFA with the EBDFA.
He took the opportunity to say thanks to James Herbert, Banks DIH, Matthews Foundation, Grove/Diamond NDC, Eccles/Ramsburg NDC, Ministry of Sport, GFF and other organisers for their support in 2011 and looked forward to working with them and other organisations this year.