THE highly-successful relationship between the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, MS (RHTY&SC, MS) and Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), through its international soft drink brand Pepsi, has been renewed for the 15th consecutive year.

Last Tuesday, the company renewed its cricket sponsorship of the RHTY&SC, MS Under-19 and Intermediate cricket teams. Pepsi has been sponsoring the teams since 2004 when they replaced former official sponsor Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company.

Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster hailed the long-standing relationship between the club and the official sponsor. He stated that DDL and Pepsi are two of the main reasons why the RHTY&SC, MS is widely considered Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation with an unmatched list of activities and achievements.

“The 2018 sponsorship deal is worth $240 000 and would cover the cost of balls for practice and matches, transportation, snacks and preparation of the two teams in what is expected to be the busiest year in Berbice’s cricket,” Foster said.

Foster who is the president of the Berbice Cricket Board, stated that both teams would be involved in Under-19 and Intermediate cricket tournaments, organised by the Berbice Cricket Board.

He noted that the Pepsi sponsorship has allowed the players to concentrate on playing the game without worrying about expenses.

Since 2004, the Pepsi Under-19 team has produced players of the calibre of Clinton Pestano, Eon Hooper, Shawn Pereira, Lloydel Lewis, Askay Homraj, Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Jonathan Rampersaud, Mahendra Gopilall, Jeremy Sandia, Sheneeta Grimmond, Shailendra Shameer, Shemaine Campbelle, Shabeka Gajnabi, Arif Chan, Kevin Sinclair, Uma Matadin, Mariam Samaroo, Dian Prahalad, Aleema Arokium and Plaffiana Millington among others who have either played for Berbice or Guyana.

The success of the cricket teams of the RHTY&SC, Foster stated, has been based on massive investments into each of its players, excellent one-on-one relationship between management and players, and a no-nonsense approach to indiscipline.

Meanwhile, vice-president Mark Papannah and cricket manager Robby Kissoonlall both expressed gratitude to DDL for its continued confidence in the club.

Marketing Manager of DDL, Larry Wills, hailed the relationship between the two organisations as successful and noted that the teams have represented the Pepsi brand with pride and success on and off the cricket field.

DDL, he stated, invests heavily in sports, culture, education and youth development as part of its corporate duties and is proud to be associated with the RHTY&SC, MS.