REPUBLIC Bank Guyana on Thursday teamed up once with the Petra Organisation for the seventh edition of their Secondary Schools Football League at their headquarters on New Market Street, Georgetown.

The 2026 edition again sees eight of the best schools from across the country battling for the top league spots and places in the KFC Goodwill International Football Tournament.

Chase Academy is the defending champion of the league after winning in 2025.

The other schools competing this year are Region One’s Santa Rosa Secondary School, Three Miles Secondary School in Region Seven, New Amsterdam Secondary School in Region Six, and Annandale Secondary School, Charlestown Secondary School, West Ruimveldt Secondary School, and St. Joseph High in Region Four.

Managing Director of Republic Bank Dr. Toussant Boyce told the youth gathered that football is something that he has had a passion for over the years.

“What began three years ago as a shared vision between Republic Bank and the Petra Organisation has actually grown into a highly anticipated tournament that showcases some of the finest young football talent across Guyana, and I can say that because I saw the tournament for the first time last year and I saw some outstanding performances, so I will be looking from the stands this year, and if I see any outstanding performances and it has to be an individual player because the team performances are well rewarded, that player will be guaranteed to get something very special from me.”

He says Republic Bank is elated to have a share in creating opportunities for young people, the nation’s youth, on and off the field.

He says their support goes beyond the provision of financial services through their social investment initiative ‘Power to Make a Difference’; they seek to make a difference by empowering young people, strengthening communities, and creating pathways for growth and success.

Suresh Singh, Director of Youth at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport said, “We have placed a lot of interest in the last few years in investing in a lot of infrastructure work at the national and community level, the country has about 650 community grounds, about 400 on the coast and about 250 in the hinterland and we have invested in one way or another in these facilities. Why that is so important to us in this country is because we spoke many decades ago about sports in relation to young people development and the country as a whole because we are a sport loving nation.”

The Head of the Unit of Allied Arts at the Ministry of Education, Nicholas Fraser, noted saying “This is the golden age for school football in Guyana, and it is important that we stick to those principles that we had when we began, the principles of fair play and discipline on your part, and of course, you know, when you have a right and you do have the right to be treated fairly, you have a responsibility to ensure you follow the rules.”

The KFC competition will feature the first-place and runner-up teams, who will match skills with top schools from Brazil, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Jamaica.

Petra Director Troy Mendonca says they have a proud track record, and it is heartening to see the continued progression of players from their grassroots programmes.

“As organisers, we are committed to delivering professionally managed and highly competitive competition, and we will continue as usual putting out the best foot forward so that the players, the schools, the supporters, the sponsors, and all other stakeholders will have a memorable tournament.”

The tournament kicks off on October 18 and concludes on the 29th of November, with all games played on Sunday at the Ministry of Education Ground.

Teams will play each other once with three points for a victory and one point for a draw. The team that tops the points table will be crowned champions.

Individual prizes will also go to the most valuable player, highest goal scorer, and best goalkeeper.

The winning school team will collect $400,000 towards a school project of their choice, with half that amount for the runners-up and $125,000 for third place.