The Guyana Beach Football Association on Friday afternoon launches with beverage giants Banks DIH Ltd and Linden Care Foundation the
inaugural grassroots open beach football tournament for schools in the Linden and surrounding areas. This tournament will see eight schools and will also benefit from counseling sessions on social affected activities and HIV AIDS included. At the simply ceremony were local Coordinator of the Guyana Beach Football Association Rollin Tappin, Public Relations and Marketing Officer Mark Bradford, Banks DIH Ltd representative Junior Lee, and Prevention Coordinator at Linden Care Foundation Sharma Allicock. Allicock explain that his organization has now become a household name in association with the GBFA and now to partner with banks in this inaugural tournament will see a new dimension of proposed programming for the youth who will be participating in the tournament.
He noted that after every game there will be a thirty minutes session on social activates affecting youth and will include HIV AIDS among others. He also indicated that there will be assessment for the schools participation and the best school will receive a plaque for their participation. Local coordinator Rollin Tappin outlined the initiative of the tournament highlighting the success of the association to date and their upcoming plans and activities to which will see an international good will tournament in three weeks. The GBFA was been in operation over three years and has participated on one international tournament last November where they brought  third in a sixteen team tournament and three of the local players were selected to represent a Caribbean all star side to participate in a tournament in Virgina, USA this July. He noted that the grassroots open school tournament will give the youths a fist hand experience at the new format in football and will see the talent of the players where the association is expected to select a squad to begin an academy for the sport. His express great thank to the sponsors and partners who are onboard with the association and wished the schools participating a successful tournament. Banks DIH Ltd Linden representative Junior Lee in his short address indicated that this is another social and development contribution  to sports in Guyana from his company who has been the major front runners to sports development in Guyana. He noted that beach football as is new in Guyana the association has began the right format in having a grassroots open school tournament to give the youth a firsthand opportunity to develop the sport. He wished the teams participating good luck and will see the tournament played under the Coca Cola product Powerade.