… Guyanese winger to lace-up for NCAA D1 school in inaugural collegiate football season

IT’S a dream come true for 19-year-old National football player Nicholas McArthur, who will be heading to the ‘Windy City’ in Illinois, to commence his scholarship at the Chicago State University. The school will be making their National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One football debut this season and McArthur is hoping to open doors for more players from Guyana to join him on the ‘D1’ collegiate circuit. “This is a stepping-stone for me to leave Guyana to play football; not only football, but to study my academics, make my family proud and Guyana proud. This is something that I’ve always dreamed about, to leave this country,” an elated McArthur said. The Fruta Conquerors winger told Chronicle Sport that an opportunity had previously presented itself for him to play collegiate football, but the lack of finances, coupled with a breakdown in other critical areas, saw the scholarship not materialising.
McArthur’s scholarship was made possible by Guyanese and Canadian football legend, Alex Bunbury, as the National U-20 player thanked the former C.S. Marítimo player and legend for his assistance and all that he would have done to make his scholarship possible. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, as well as the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), would’ve also contributed in a tangible way to ensure that McArthur is properly taken care of on his journey to Chicago.

Charles Ramson Jr, the country’s Minister responsible for Sport, was present yesterday at a simple ceremony to formally announce McArthur’s scholarship, and encourage the player to strive to stay focussed on the prize, which is getting a quality education and advancing his skills in the game.
Ramson said he’s always “pleased to open doors and create initiatives for Guyanese and particularly young Guyanese”.
The minister told McArthur that he must recognise that he’s receiving a blessing and he must never take it for granted and “must never do things that are inimical to your interest and the advancement of your personal development. Make the decisions that are only beneficial for you and the opportunity that you have”.
Meanwhile president of the GFF, Wayne Forde, listed the likes of Jeremy Garrett (LSU Eunice), Curtez Kellman (Daytona State College) and Natalie Cummings (Graceland University) among some of the players who would’ve received tangible support from the Federation in pursuit of their scholarship.
Forde said GFF will do all that it possibly can to ensure much assistance is given to McArthur, so he can focus on playing the beautiful game and studying.
“Let us all endeavour to do what we can do together, to ensure that this young man will have the best possible experience when he leaves Guyana, hopefully in a couple of weeks,” Forde said.
McArthur and the ‘Cougars’ will play in the NCAA D1 Western Athletic Conference in the 2021 season and will host their home games at the Ray and Joan Kroc Stadium in Chicago and will be coached by Trevor Banks.