AFTER one test kick, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, scored the first goal in the Georgetown edition of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ football competition which kicked off at the Banks DIH, Demerara Car Park last Tuesday night.

Present were officials from Banks DIH, Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Guinness representatives, game officials and members of the two teams who played the first match – Laing Avenue and Leopold Street – along with their supporters.
Thirty-two teams from across the City are playing for the top prize of $500,000, with the second, third and fourth placed teams taking home $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively along with trophies.
Along with the above mentioned prizes, teams can pocket an additional $25,000, $20,000, $15,000 and $10,000 each, according to their placing at the end of the preliminary round.
The top two finishers of this tournament will go on to represent Georgetown in the national playoffs, following which the winner will go on to represent Guyana in the regional Guinness Street Football Competition to be held in Trinidad and Tobago next year.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Anthony reminisced on when the competition first started with the first match being held in Tiger Bay, noting that sports is one thing that can bring people together and in the City communities there is need for an outlet where people can expel energy.
He emphasised that it is good that football is bringing out people to get active and enjoy themselves and at the same time stay healthy, adding that over the years the competition has been incident free and it is anticipated that the same would happen this year.
According to Dr. Anthony, the beauty of the competition is that it goes to communities that are underserved in terms of sports and also helps to rejuvenate community spirit and more importantly, over the years stars and champions have emerged which shows Guyana and the Caribbean that talent can be unearthed in the most unusual of places.
Dr. Anthony said his Ministry is pleased to support the competition and will continue to do so along with the GFF.
He added that the fact that there are 32 teams in the competition, which include teams from in and out of the City shows that the competition has come a long way and has grown beyond the scope of Georgetown.
“Besides that, Guinness has recognized the power of football in Guyana, and has taken and developed the concept into a Caribbean competition,” related Dr. Anthony to his audience.
The GFF is all about development and supports any initiative that meets that objective and with that in mind, Banks DIH was commended for their efforts in that respect, with this sixth edition having an impact on the regional competition.
The quarterfinals and semifinals of the competition are scheduled to be contested on the same night, December 17th at the National Cultural Centre tarmac, while other venues such as Burnham Court, California Square, Albouystown and the National Park, will be used.
Written By Calvin Roberts