THE Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) 2013 season opened yesterday amidst much pomp and ceremony at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground.

The participating associations were represented by their respective players donned in their respective association colours.
The associations represented included Georgetown Football Association, Upper Demerara Football Association, Essequibo Football Association, National Women’s Football Association, West Demerara Football Association, East Demerara Football Association, Bartica Football Asociation and East Bank Football Association.
The Guyana Football Referees Council was also a part of the event which was graced by the presence of Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Dr. Frank Anthony, Director of Sports Neil Kumar, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Alfred King and Georgetown’s Mayor Hamilton Green among other public figures.
Minister. Anthony in his address to the participating associations, charged the GFF to stage at least one tournament every six months.
He noted that the sport of football is the number one sport in the world “and there is no reason why we cannot pact the (Providence) stadium to capacity and I challenge the GFF to do this.”
The sports minister informed that this year, his ministry will be working with 300 communities throughout the country in an effort to upgrade their respective grounds for sporting activities.
He said to date, some of the 300 communities identified for assistance have already sent in their applications and that these communities will be given grants of between $500,000 to $3m for their upgrading projects.
Dr. Anthony said that the Synthetic track currently under construction at Lillendaal will also include a football field in the center of the track.
He said he has spoken to the various sports associations indicating to them that dormitories can be included at the facility to cater for encampment of teams.
He said he is very pleased with what he saw yesterday at the GFF’s 2013 launch and is very happy to see corporate Guyana has come on board.
GFF’s president Christopher Matthias in very brief remarks stated that this is a new beginning for football in Guyana that will not only benefit individuals, but Guyana as a whole.
Georgetown’s mayor Hamilton Green whom also addressed those present said he is glad to be associated with the ceremony and congratulated the GFF for their efforts.
He expressed the hope that appropriate funds can be made available to the Georgetown City Council so that the City Council can be able to upgrade the various grounds.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds in his address said he is very pleased to a part of the occasion and reminisced on the days gone by when the sport was vibrant.
He said he hope that yesterday’s launch of the GFF 2013 season is the beginning of regular competitions for the country’s footballers.
He informed that when he was young, there were no distractions like television and electronic games, so it’s good that we have this competition.” Adding “I do feel that football can have positive effects on the country’s youths.”
Banks DIH’s Public Relations executive Troy Peters who represented the various sponsors said Banks is closely associated with the GFF and that yesterday is the new beginning in the development of football locally. “Without sponsorship, football will not develop” Peters declared.