KFC’s Goodwill Schools International Football Championship launched…

THE premier regional secondary school football tournament is back. On Tuesday, the Petra Organisation launched the 7th annual KFC Goodwill International Schools Football Tournament at the Cara Lodge Hotel.

This year’s competition will see secondary school football champions from around the Caribbean and Brazil converging in Guyana for one week in December.

The seventh edition of the regional competition features teams from Brazil, Suriname, Barbados Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. It is set to kick off on the 13th and conclude on December 20th.

Petra Co-Director Troy Mendonca applauded KFC for the commitment to the one-of-a-kind regional competition.

“To KFC Guyana, our main sponsor, who continues to show confidence and investment to make this important programme possible, I also want to acknowledge the invaluable support of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. Their support confirmed the shared commitment to youth development, education, and sports,” he said.

This year’s tournament, Mendonca noted, will again leave a lasting impact on the players who compete, as they will engage other youths from different cultures while building friendships.

“On the field, players will have a chance to exhibit talent, discipline, creativity, and teamwork while proudly representing their country throughout their schools.”

Head of the Unit of Allied Arts at the Ministry of Education, Nicholas Fraser, said that his ministry is again elated to have the competition on the calendar.

“It is these competitions that we have here locally that are very much anticipated by the schools and by the regional education departments. It also forms an important part of developing the sport through schools, so we are very helpful working with Petra and KFC in this tournament again. We are also happy it will help not only on the technical and tactical side but also help them to learn and grow when they are exposed to players from different countries.”

KFC’s General Manager Paul Subryan, speaking virtually at the launch, said, “It is only when we compete against other countries with other skill sets that they learn from each other, and that is why KFC is so proud to support this tournament because we are all about community development and we are all about youth development in sports, so on behalf of KFC Guyana, we are very pleased to join Petra in supporting the schools, families, and teams set to compete in this tournament.”

He added that it is because of the loyalty of KFC’s customers that they are in a position to give back to the youth and continue to grow.

“We believe business must give back to the communities that support them, and for that, it means supporting young people and helping to create opportunities to learn and compete, and it also means recognising the families, teachers, and coaches that encourage them.”

The eight participating teams are defending champions Chase’s Academic Foundation, Trinidad and Tobago schools league champions Naparima College, Jamaica’s schools’ champions Excelsior High, the winners and runners-up of the Republic Bank Secondary Schools League, and schools’ champions from Barbados, Suriname and Brazil.

The teams will be placed into two groups of four for the round-robin stage, after which the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, with the winners progressing to the final.