–MCYS pours $4M into the league; GFF supports with $1.5M

THE East Coast Demerara 2025 senior football league kicked off yesterday at the Plaisance Community Centre, ECD, with a victory for Buxton United, while Golden Star and Plaisance played to a 2-2 draw.

In the opening match, Buxton United showed their class by beating BV/Triumph United, 4-2, on the newly-renovated and resurfaced Plaisance Ground.
Both teams seemed to enjoy the condition of the ground, which was neatly cut and with lush green grass.
Tishawn Gordon (6th), Phillip Williams (9th), Imgram Rahaman (42nd), and Shemar Fredricks (50th) were the goal scorers for Buxton United.
Royden Chapman (20th), and Siquan Ferguson were the scorers for BV/Triumph United.

In the feature game, home team Plaisance United and Golden Stars, of Golden Grove played to an exciting 2-2 draw.
Akeem Thomas (7th), and Leron Charles (16th), scored for Plaisance, while Nigel Grant (19th), and Dequan Clarke (30th), netted for Golden Stars.
Earlier in the evening, The Honourable Charles Ramson Jr., Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, in his address, reminded the players, club executives and spectators of the promises he’d made and delivered upon.

Those included the upgrade of the Plaisance Sports Club Ground, which was a swamp a few years ago, the equipping of the Plaisance, Victoria, Buxton, and BV Grounds with lights; and soon to commence complete upgrade of the Golden Grove Ground.

Minister Ramson informed that the monetary support towards the League is part of the commitments made to the East Coast Football Executives to partner with them in developing the potential of youths across the East Coast, both on and off the field.

He said that infrastructural improvements on the grounds at BV, Buxton, Victoria, Golden Grove, ‘Melanie’ and Paradise are underway, as he highlighted the importance of meeting the sporting needs of the youths of the East Coast and other communities across the country.
When the League is completed, top teams will walk away with cash incentives and trophies, while the winning team will enter the 2026 season of the Guyana Football Federation’s Elite League playoffs to qualify as a permanent member of that division.

In an address to the audience, Third Vice-President of the Guyana Football Association, Dion Innis pledged support of the umbrella body, and handed over $1.5 million dollars cash towards the work programme of the EDFA.
Innis charged the young footballers to “Make this a season of pride, unity, and excellence”, and reminded that “when football is strong on the East Coast, football at the national level is made even stronger”.

He also reminded that the East Coast has consistently given generations of excellent footballers to Guyana, including some of the leading names in football such as Ramroop, Carl Cole, Dwain ‘Dungin’ Jacobs (Golden Stars), the Late Osmond Jeune (Victoria Kings), and Omari Glasgow (BV/Triumph United) among others.
In brief remarks, President of the East Coast Association Rickford Profitt noted that the Association will continue to lobby support from the government and the private sector to ensure that quality facilities and opportunities for talent exposition are made available to each footballer of the East Coast.

Accompanying the minister to the opening was Chairman of the National Sports Commission and Co-Director of the Kashif & Shanghai Organisation Kashif Muhammad.
The other games which were scheduled for yesterday, Sunday July 27, were postponed due to a cultural activity at the same venue.