SCOTIABANK and the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) under their Pepsi brand have collectively plugged $3.8M into this year’s Guyana Sports Development Foundation (GSDF) third installation of their Football Academy which will, for the first time, be played in Linden, Georgetown and the ancient county of Berbice.
At the Ministry of Education Complex ground, Georgetown host the gala opening ceremony for the city teams and simultaneously in Linden at the Wisburg Secondary ground at 09:30hrs, while Berbice will kick-start on March 30.   Scotiabank Guyana and Caribbean Manager Amanda St Aubyn is expected to officially kick off the tournament at the Ministry of Education Sports Complex, followed by a double-header where Tucville Secondary and Lodge will lock cleats in a female encounter and then Charlestown and Christ Church Secondary will face off in the lone male game.
Matches will be played every Saturday and Sunday.
Encompassing the different elements of the game, the programme saw some 40 teachers trained in the capacity of coaches while approximately 30 students have completed the Referee Course.
Coming out of last year’s programme, the GSDF had an all-star female team training continuously for approximately six months.
The team participated in a U-21 Female Football Competition and defeated established teams from Berbice and West Demerara.
Previously a number of female players, coming out of this programme, represented Guyana in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) World Cup U-17 Qualifiers with the Female National U-17 Team winning their group playoff in Guyana and going on to Jamaica for the next round.