THE highly anticipated and hugely popular Courts Optical U11 boys’ football competition will take centre stage as the Petra Organisation stages the 13th edition of the marquee tournament.
Title sponsor Courts, through its eye-care brand Courts Optical, will again feature as the main supporter of the grassroots football tournament.
The tournament, which is played at the Ministry of Education ground, will feature 15 schools from Georgetown; one from Region 10 in One Mile Primary; three from Region Seven; two from Region Six; One from Region Five in Rosignol Primary; six from Region Four; four from Region Three; and two from Region Two and Santa Rosa Primary from Region 1.
Unicomer Managing Director Gillian Matthews impressed upon those gathered the significance of investing in the next generation.
“This is not just a tournament; it represents much more than just football. It represents an investment in our children, in our communities, and in the development of young people across Guyana. Over the years, we have been proud to work alongside the Petra Organisation to create an environment where young people and players can compete, develop their skills, and build relationships. This is very important in these times of events. It is not just to compete; relationships from these, we also learn important values, values that stay with us beyond when we are in the field.”
Head of the Unit of Allied Arts in the Ministry of Education Nicholas Fraser, said the journey with the Petra Organisation and Courts has been remarkable.
“The Ministry of Education is very pleased to see this tournament continue, especially since it has been able to develop quite a bit of talent. Personally, I like to see massive activities, activities that touch many children, and as a ministry, we are interested in some of the things expressed by Ms Matthews, how children learn through these activities. We are interested in children with mild obesity getting involved in these activities; it is those children that[sic] will benefit more from these sorts of activities than the athlete. So for us, we are very happy that hundreds will be bothering their parents to go to football practice and make friends and do these activities that will greatly benefit their health.”
Assistant Director of Sport Franklin Wilson, who represented the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport, said that youth football is key to sports growth.
“I want to commend Petra for their resilience in continued and consistent football from the young level, under 11, to the senior level, under 20; their commitment has contributed to Guyana’s development… Why is under 11 important? If you look at the Ralph Green under-11 tournament, the current captain of Santos Football Club in the Elite League, Malcom Hendricks, came through this tournament as well as that tournament, and he is now the captain of Santos Football Club.”
Co-Director of the Petra Organisation Troy Mendonca singled out Courts for their long-standing commitment to youth football, as evident through their sponsorship for over a decade.
“For more than 12 years, this tournament has been a staple in Guyana’s sporting calendar; it has provided a generation of primary school players with organised competition, helped identify emerging talents and contributed to the development of several juniors and senior national players… which was recently demonstrated in the Caribbean Football Union under-14 challenge series, where Guyana captured the Teir 2 title. 10 players from participating schools were part of that successful line-up: two from West Ruimveldt Primary; two from St. Pius; two from Enterprise Primary; one from Redeemer; one from St. Margaret’s; one from St. Gabriel and one from Marian Academy.”
The 13th court’s optical pee wee football tournament runs from September 19 to October 24.
Leonora’s primary is the defending champion.
