THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and Blue Water Shipping officially launched Guyana’s first U15 national league for girls on Saturday, with a football festival for participating girls, and the distribution of equipment at the GFF National Training Centre.

The new league will provide a crucial stepping stone in the development of young talent for Guyana’s female national teams, rapidly accelerate participation among girls in football across the country, and provide opportunities for more coaches and match officials.

Alongside a football festival featuring some of the girls that will star in the competition, the GFF’s regional associations also received footballs and equipment to support the implementation of the league, as part of the GFF’s Member Financial Assistance Programme (M-FAP).

“We are creating history,” said GFF President Wayne Forde. “Over the next few months, for the first time, we will see thousands of girls in the U15 category learning the fine art of football.”

“We want these girls to be in football, not just to play, but because many valuable life skills will be learned through this experience,” Forde said, adding: “They will learn to be a team player, they will learn to win and to lose, they will learn to respect authority and they will develop new friendships. They will become part of the football community for the rest of their lives.”

Blue Water Shipping Country Manager Richard DeNobrega said he knew the girls taking part in the tournament would do the nation proud, with some likely to represent Guyana in the future.

“What we want, in partnering with the Federation, is to encourage the team spirit of football, and to inspire these young ladies to make our country even better than it already is,” DeNobrega said.

President Forde revealed that the competition will stretch beyond the GFF’s nine regional associations, with an edition taking place in Region One (Barima-Waini).

“It is important that we realise our responsibility to make football accessible to all Guyana,” Forde said, adding: “We will have Blue Water U15 leagues across the entire 83,000 square miles of the nation. This is the mandate we have from FIFA, and Blue Water, as our enduring partner, is giving us the necessary support we need to deliver on this mandate.

“Thank you to the management of Blue Water Shipping; the investment you are making in these young women’s lives will pay dividends for many years to come.”