THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will today launch their FIFA-funded Football for Schools Programme at their National Training Centre, Providence.

Football for Schools is a programme launched by FIFA in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and seeks to make football more accessible to both boys and girls (4 – 14) around the world by incorporating football activities into the education system and contributing to the development and empowerment of children.

The programme is being rolled out in all 211 countries which are a part of FIFA. Guyana is the first country in the Caribbean region selected to pilot the programme.

Wayne Forde, GFF president, will be joined by Project Leader of the FIFA Football for Schools, Alexandre Gros, along with Caribbean Football Union (CFU) General Secretary Camara David, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Dr Douglas Slater, Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson Jr and Minister of Education Priya Manickchand.

During a meeting recently held between the GFF and the Ministry of Education, Minister Manickchand welcomed the programme and noted that it aligns with the Ministry of Education’s plans to ensure that students are well-rounded and graduate from secondary school having been exposed to at least one musical instrument, sport, language and TVET subject.

Some 50 coach-educators were trained by FIFA. They will be responsible for training children from the age of four to 14 across the 11 education districts.

The Ministry of Education said they will immediately begin to look at the curriculum for the programme to ensure the concepts that are intended to be taught off the field are age-appropriate.