Semifinals to be decided tomorrow in GFF Blue Water National Girls U15 championship
A glimpse of what to expect this Saturday in the GFF-Blue Waters National Schools U15 Football Championship.
Kaieteur Sports – The business end of the 2024 Guyana Football Federation-Blue Water National Girls Under-15 Football tournament will be in full swing this weekend, as the quarterfinals kick off tomorrow (Saturday) at the National Training Centre in Providence. The tournament will culminate the following day (Sunday) with the semifinals and final, promising a thrilling conclusion to the largest female grassroots programme in the country.
From an initial pool of 60 teams, the competition has narrowed down to the final eight: St. Ignatius Secondary, President’s College (PC), Bartica, Queen’s College (QC), Waramuri Top, Tucville, Santa Rosa, and Bush Lot Secondary, all vying for a spot in the championship’s final four.
Saturday’s lineup features four exciting quarterfinal matches. St. Ignatius Secondary will face a strong President’s College side in the first match at 10:00 hours, while Bartica Secondary will simultaneously take on the QC girls. In the third quarterfinal encounter, Waramuri Primary Top will go head-to-head with Tucville Secondary. The final match of the day will see Bush Lot Secondary competing against Santa Rosa Secondary for the last spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the tournament’s Operations Coordinator, Lavern Fraser said that, We (GFF) are extremely happy to get this far in the tournament. She stated that with only two Georgetown teams making into the round of 16 and now the quarter finals lineup, “It is very pleasing to see these young ladies being afforded the opportunity to not just meet their peers but also the opportunity to represent their respective schools,” Fraser concluded.
“While we are aware of the talents/caliber of players that exits the female footballing population, of course, a lot of that has been on display throughout the tournament,” GFF head Wayne Forde said in a previous interview. He continued to say that, “Obviously, the teams that have had advanced into the round of 16, would have been the teams that are bringing the better quality of football to the pitch.”
With six of the eight quarterfinalists hailing out of the Hinterland areas, it shows that the Hinterland girls are players way ahead of that of the coastland girls.
Forde said, “This is a challenge for the GFF, the Clubs and the regional associations.” He said, “I Think that, the FIFA F4S programme gives us the platform to close the gap and also build on what is already happening for those in the hinterland areas but also really put the right progammes through the F4S programme so that we can see incremental/ rapid improvement in the coastland schools.”
The GFF-run tournament is sponsored by Blue Water Shipping, with support from the Guyana Beverage Incorporation.
The top three schools will receive trophies and medals, with the champions awarded equipment valued at over $600,000.
The second-placed team will secure equipment worth slightly more than $450,000, while the third-placed team will receive football gear valued at just over $379,000.
The prize package includes essential football equipment such as balls, goals, jerseys, shin guards, goalkeeper gloves, training arches, agility ladders and more.
