THIRTY-two schools, drawn from around Georgetown, will begin the battle for supremacy on Saturday, when the Petra Organisation, Milo-sponsored Schools Football tournament kicks off at the Ministry of Education ground. This is the fourth edition of the championship which was won by Chase Academy last year, and the organisers and sponsors are eagerly anticipating another successful tournament.
At the Championship, which was launched at Beepat’s Sophia headquarters, Nestle Caribbean’s Business Development Manager Sudesh Mahase, expressed his delight and that of his company, for once again being the title sponsors of a football tournament which he says has helped to shape the lives of young Guyanese.
The Trinidadian Mahase reflected on when the company (Nestle) was first approached by Petra Organisation four years, the championship was looked at “as a perfect alignment of our brand and what was the objective of the whole programme and really giving back to the community in Guyana, for the support for our business through Beepat’s”.
Nestle Caribbean’s Business Development Manager pointed out that while the championship was a ‘sizeable’ investment, it was a “perfect alignment, creating shared value”.
“Part of the programme this year is where we want to have sessions on different aspects on lifestyles and the steps to healthy living and in terms of education for nutrition,” Mahase said.
The tournament has received full support from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), whose third vice-president Thandi McAllister said the Federation is happy to not only give sanction to the event, but to also work closely with Petra Organisation in ensuring that it is properly administered and the games are played according to the rules and laws of football.
Petra Organisation’s co-Director Troy Mendonca thanked Nestle for once again trusting in their ability to once again run off what is now known to be a tournament that is seen a ‘must-win’ for the participating schools over the last four years.
Mendonca said that his organisation is anxious about the start of this year’s championships, especially after seeing how keenly contested last year’s event was.
According to the former National football player, Petra Organisation will also be using the championship to do sessions with the participating teams about suicide and preventative measures.
The Annual Milo-sponsored U-20 Schools football tournament, featuring 32 high schools in Georgetown who will vie to not only dethrone defending champions Chase Academy, but also to pocket the tournament’s first prize of $500 000, which will go to their school.
The schools finishing second through fourth will win $300 000, $200 000 and $100 000 respectively.

By Rawle Toney