– The groundbreaking Digicel schools football tournament

By Tamica Garnett
“It means so much for us in terms of development, in terms of developing the sports section in the school, and developing the school in general.”

That description, from one coach, mirrors the feelings of others across the country when it comes to the Digicel football competition for secondary school students. The tournament has registered its place as one of the premier competitions for the country’s youths.
Now an annual event, the competition has built quite a name for itself over the past six years.
The event is highly anticipated and many schools and students consider it an honour to be a part of the event.
“Just to participate in the Digicel Schools Football Tournament is a big thing; this is the big football competition.
“Everybody prepares for it, everyone wants to be a part of it,” said Simone Wickham manager for the Cummings Lodge Secondary.
Cummunigs Lodge earlier this week played the Bishop’s High at the Guyana Defence Force Ground, Camp Ayanganna, in one of many matches being staged throughout the week at various grounds in Georgetown, and across the country.
Cummings Lodge and Bishop’s High are two of 180 secondary schools from across Guyana that registered to take part in the competition, which runs under the theme “Unite. Develop. Excel”. The tournament is said to be the brainchild of Jacqueline James, Digicel’s Head of Marketing.
The tournament was aimed developing the students into all rounded individuals. And as the competition continues, there is no question that it has done just that.
For many, the annual tournament is about seeing who will come out the best among the schools as they vie for the top $1M prize that goes to the winning school. But for others, it’s about the discipline, the bonds, the friendships, and the opportunities that the event presents.
“You find people from different communities, different upbringing – some are sheltered, some are not – but sports develops a unity that is far greater than anything, not even school develops this unity as a team. They are really into this, it has really helped them to bond more as friends, these guys believe in each other,” said the coach for the Bishop’s High team, following the team’s 7-5 win over Cummings Lodge.
One of the most admirable facet of the competition is just how vastly decentralized this game is, and has always been. This competition touches every last one of Guyana’s 10 administration region, with preliminary matches held in each and every last region. Digicel has been applauded over the years for the opportunity it provides for many of the players to see differing parts of Guyana, that they may have not otherwise ventured to.
Though Digicel often shies away from declaring the kind of budget one comes up against for executing something of this magnitude, there is no doubt the company is shelling millions into this venture.
It’s more than just the prize money; Digicel covers the uniforms for these teams, and covers the cost of transportation, no matter the distance. And, as one student put it, they don’t just look at the football, they invest in the players.
“Being a part of this competition is very beneficial, because they (Digicel) don’t just look at the football, they cater for us academically, and they help us. In previous competitions they would sponsor and assist players to further their career. They assisted me a lot, and I felt special, it was a privilege,” commented Bishop’s High player Nemar Williams.
As one teacher sees it the competition stands to open doors for many of the students who may not be so academically inclined, but have skills otherwise.
“It’s giving the students the opportunity to showcase their talent, and also boosting them education wise because all two have to go hand in hand.
“This is an exposure that when they finish secondary school they will be able to market themselves.
“So even if they don’t do well education wise, they have something that they could do with football, become a coach, become a referee, something,” the Cummings Lodge coach noted.
A lot of students who have competed at this competition have gone on to play for other local teams, with prospects of making it onto the national team.
One observer pointed out that the competition even stands to be credited with helping the students become more disciplined, and more inclined to stay in school.
“School dropout has decreased too because of this football championship. One of the requirements is that attendance at school is a perquisite to play. Teachers told me discipline among students improved,” the coach said.

The finals of the competition will be held on July 31 at the Guyana National Stadium.