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Semifinals to be decided tomorrow in GFF Blue Water National Girls U15 championship Jun 28, 2024 Sports 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. Related Similar Articles

Verwey, Sumner to lead Guyana at 2024 CASA Championship Jun 28, 2024 Sports GSA President David Fernandes, ENET’s Robert Hiscock and Value 4 U’s Sharon Bryan (seated) share photo-op with members of 2024 Squash team off to the CASA Championship in BVI, Dejee Dias GSA Competitions Chairman (standing) also sharing the moment. (Sean Devers photo) Kaieteur Sports – A team of spirited Guyanese squash players is set to compete in the 2024 Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Juniors Tournament, taking place in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, from June 30 to July 6. The Guyanese contingent will be led by local and regional U19 star Nicholas Verwey and standout female player Safirah Sumner, who will serve as captains of the boys’ and girls’ teams, respectively. The tournament will feature top junior talent from several Caribbean nations, including Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent, and Grenada. In preparation for the event, the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) hosted a media briefing on Wednesday at the Georgetown Club, attended by team members and sponsors. GSA President David Fernandes announced that 95% of the players have met the fitness standards and expressed gratitude to the sponsors and the Government of Guyana for providing the National Racket Centre facility. Speeches were also given by ENET’s Head of Mobile, Robert Hiscock, and Value 4 U Inc Sales Manager, Sharon Bryan. The Guyanese squad includes Nicholas Verwey, Michael ‘Mikey’ Alphonso, Louis DaSilva, Mohrayan Baksh, Ethan Bulkan, Egan Bulkan, Zion Hickerson, Zoey McDonald, Tehani Munroe, Alexis Arjoon, Avery Arjoon, Kaylee Lowe, Emily Fung-A-Fat, Safirah Sumner, Rylee Rodrigues, Malia Maikoo, Justin Goberdan, Jacob McDonald, Shiloh Asregado, and Demetri Lowe. Despite U17 standout Josh Verwey suffering an injury, he will still travel with the team, with Shiloh Asregado stepping up to lead the U17 division. Guyana finished as runners-up in last year’s tournament, second to Barbados. Historically, Guyanese players have performed well at the CASA Juniors, boasting a 12-year winning streak in the mid-2000s that ended in 2016. The trip to the 2024 CASA Juniors is supported by sponsors including KFC, the Guyana Olympic Association, E-ZONE, E-Couriers, ENET, and Value 4 U. Related Similar Articles

Action continued on Day 2 of GBA National Junior tourney Jun 28, 2024 Sports Malia Haley (left) lost to Leshaunte Berkley. Kaieteur Sports – The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) National Junior Tournament continued Wednesday at the National Gymnasium with matches being competed in the quarterfinals and some semi-finals matches.  The action determined those contesting the various finals yesterday. Frank Waddell in action during his win. The tournament is sponsored by the National Sports Commission and forms part of the Badminton Academy. Frank Waddell (right) defeated Jonathan Debidin. Wednesday’s action saw spirited contests among the young players as they pulled out the stops to march to yesterday’s conclusion. Malia Haley was on the winning side versus Nevaeh Eastman. Results from Day 2 show: BS U19: Nikolas Pollard bt. Vishal Gopaul 16-21, 21-16, 21-17 BS U17 QF: Avinash Ramnarine bt. Christopher Jordan 21-17, 21-17 BS U17 QF: Xavio Alexander bt. Mohamed Farouk 21-5, 21-5 BS U19: Joanathan Debidin got past Darian Thomas via Walkover BS U17 QF: Ruel Rambiriche bt. Gabriel Felix 21-16, 21-17 GS U19 QF: Mishka Beharry bt. Gabriella Henry 21-4, 21-9 BS U19 QF: Frank Wadell bt. Percival Chester 21-4, 21-0 GS U17 QF: Nevaeh Eastman bt. Gabrielle Felix 21-13, 17-21, 21-15 GS U11: Anjaneysa Godette bt. Emma Ramsaran 21-1, Retired GS U11: Riyo Alexander bt. Arianna Bassier 21-7, 21-4 BS U17 QF: Nikolas Pollard bt. Joel Prince 21-14, 21-8 BS U15 SF: Egan Bulkan bt. Phillip Stephanas 21-19, 23-21 GS U17 SF: Mishka Beharry bt. Menikshi Jaikissoon 21-5, 21-7 GS U19 SF: Leshaunte Berkley bt. Malia Haley 21-17, 17-21, 21-16 BS U19 QF: Xavio Alexander bt. Christopher Jordan 21-5, 21-15 BS U19 QF: Jonathan Robinson bt. Gabriel Felix 21-17, 19-21, 21-17 BS U11: Liam Brumell bt. Christopher Harrison 21-1, 21-4 BS U13 SF: Joel Rambiriche bt. Ethan Ramsaran 21-8, 21-7 GS U15 SF: Gabrielle Felix bt. Anya Manickchand 21-7, 21-4 BS U19 QF: Joanathan Debidin bt. Nikolas Pollard 21-11, 21-6 BS U17 SF: Xavio Alexander bt. Avinash Ramnarine 21-8, 21-9 BS U15 SF: Ruel Rambiriche bt. Mohamed Farouk 21-7, 21-10 GS U15 SF: Harshini Muralidharan bt. Anjaneysa Godette 21-14, 21-15 GS U19 SF: Mishka Beharry bt. Nevaeh Eastman 21-18, 21-5 BS U19 SF: Frank Wadell bt. Jonathan Debidin 21-6, 21-6 GS U17 SF: Malia Haley bt. Nevaeh Eastman 13-21, 22-20, 21-14 BS U19 SF: Xavio Alexander bt. Jonathan Robinson 21-8, 21-9 Related Similar Articles

Regal Legends and Masters ready to rumble at NYSCL Independence Cup which begins today Jun 28, 2024 Sports Kaieteur Sports – Regal Legends (Over-50) and Masters (Over-40) teams are ready to rumble at the New York Softball Cricket League (NYSCL) 19th edition three-day softball extravaganza from today. Ramesh Narine The two teams, both with championship honours on a number occasions, have been named. The Guyana-based sides are loaded with several high-profile players and no doubt they will be looking to make a positive impact from day one. The action will unfold for three consecutive days, with things formalizing Sunday with the three-category finals. Open category is the other one. Regal Legends have two of softball legends in their lineup which would certainly boost their confidence tremendously. The pair are batsmen Wayne Jones and Ramesh Narine. In the Masters composition, they have got pugnacious opening batsman Patrick Rooplall along with a list of seasoned campaigners. Over the past six consecutive weeks, consistent rainfall in Guyana affected the teams’ total preparations, but they are anxious to stamp their authorities in the preliminary round and then the knockout stage. Apart from Regal, teams are expected from Canada, Florida, Orlando and New York to compete at this mega softball event which will attract lucrative cash prizes with trophies as well. It promises to be another showpiece and the NYSCL has put in tireless work to organize another tournament of this magnitude. Regal Legends team reads: Mohindra Arjune (Captain), Uniss Yusuf, David Harper, Rudolph Baker, Surujdeo Ramdeen, Wayne Jones, Eoin Abel, Kamraj Sumair, Parsram Persaud, Laurie Singh, Ramesh Narine, Ronald Evely, Farook Qayaam, Jagdesh Persaud, Asif Ally, Raymond Harper, Ken Sanichar Regal Masters team reads: Fazal Rafiek (Captain), Khemchandra Dindyal, Patrick Rooplall, Lenox Mark, Lakeram Roopnarine, Balram Roopnarine, Roy Persaud, Anil Ramoutar, Ameer Niamudin, Hemraj Garbarran, Rudolph Johnson, Nicolas Chase, Balram Samaroo, Ravy Singh, Randolph Ketwaroo, Sheldon Perch Related Similar Articles

Alistair Routledge – Guyana’s new head of state Jun 28, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column Hard Truths by GHK Lall Kaieteur News – Mr. Alistair Routledge’s official job title is President, ExxonMobil Guyana.  It is the biggest job in this country, more than a full-time challenge.  Round-the-clock it is.  Yet, by some miracle, the same Alistair Routledge has still found the time, harnessed the energy, and exhibited great fervor for Guyana to set himself up as Guyana’s real head of state.  He has empowered himself to speak authoritatively about who is doing what in Guyana.  Glenn Lall of Kaieteur News is a political aspirant.  He was slick enough to leave unsaid whether he approves or doesn’t.  A slew of questions gushed from what Mr. Routledge said about Publisher Lall and his aspirations. GHK Lall How is it that this is Routledge’s or Exxon’s business?  From what relationship or foundation (or vision) does Exxon’s President make the leap that he is now Guyana’s sitting president? From where and who does Mr. Routledge get that freedom, or sense that he has it, that he gives the shortest thrift, with what now stands as his incomparable audacity?  What is he going to weigh in about next?  My right to write about Guyana’s oil and Exxon’s voracious practices that devastate Guyanese prospects?  Some Guyanese have done that, and it may be their right as citizens to do so, however skimpy and shaky my own support of that position is.  But it is not for Mr. Routledge to say.  Does Mr. Routledge see Glenn Lall in the role of “political aspirant” turned possible active political participant as a threat?  A contractually existential one, so to speak?  Is Mr. Routledge and by extension Exxon so comfortable about how the PPP Government, the PNC (and other) Opposition, and civil society are all sewed up and, in the bag, (under control) that the wish of the Americans is to keep things in Guyana that way?  And only that way for the next 30 to 40 years?  And that Glenn Lall and his reasonable and justified rage about what Exxon is doing to this country and its citizens with their oil wealth must be snuffed about before such grows in strength and becomes a real danger?  And that the same applies to any other concerned, patriotic Guyanese and group about what Exxon is doing to this country? This is not just out of character for an oil company and its local commander on the ground.  It is incredible that Mr. Routledge could have the scrotum accessory to place this in the public arena.  Who calls the shots here?  Who decides about matters like these?  I am already disturbed by the American government, and the rest of that alphabet soup, that axis, of countries possessing so much influence in Guyana.  Now, it is simply unbelievable that a rampantly exploitative oil company could get so intimate with Guyana’s domestic issues, be they real or imagined.  What message is Mr. Routledge sending to his people, craven Guyanese betrayers, who are tasked with selling Exxon to various communities throughout Guyana?  Is it that they must stick to the PPP because of how much Exxon is going to make happen for them?  Mr. Routledge has jumped headlong and feet first into Guyana’s politics, and I ask this: how does that mesh with his corporate oil management duties and priorities?  Exxon is a partner on paper of Guyana, and the maximum my interpretation allows is for that partnership to be limited to oil exclusively.  Even with the most liberal concessions, the Exxon-Guyana oil partnership should not and must not impinge on probable domestic developments that have something to do with the political.  Such as who contests, who should be the government.  Having rather brazenly delivered his piece on “political aspirant”, it could be an automatic next step in the calculations of Exxon to speak unrestrainedly and endorse openly about which person or group should form the next government.  Thinking of this, I discern more than an Exxon-Guyana oil partnership.  What I now conclude is that there is an Exxon-PPP coalition already well in place, but only now being given public light. Clearly, this provides confirmation about why President Ali and Guyana’s Chief Oilman Jagdeo are so mentally yoked, muscle bound, and mouth-sealed when the Exxon contract is tabled, and when material changes should be made to it.  Further, it is the starkest indication yet of who is the boss in Guyana, and who is the junior partner, one reduced to a silent and passive one, in the Exxon-PPP Government coalition.  How else to explain Mr. Routledge’s flexing his muscles publicly and taking for granted the impotence of the PPP Government and its leadership in objecting that he has gone too far? Is this what the arrival of oil now means for Guyanese?  Where the American equivalent of Belgium’s King Leopold could come here and be given free rein to replicate what destroyed a people over a hundred years ago?  Mr. Routledge could only do what he did with such assurance if the PPP Government is under his saddle.  It has been blindingly clear to more Guyanese that Exxon and Routledge have been riding the decision makers in the PPP Government anyway that is found pleasing.  Whoever is a political aspirant serves as the proof.  I am sure Hon. Bharrat Jagdeo, one of the sharpest political operators in the world, is going to say that Mr. Routledge is free to take the position that he did.  Remember his limp stance on those Exxon billboards. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) Related Similar Articles

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Artful Dodger or Clever Prevaricator? Jun 28, 2024 Editorial Kaieteur News – The question has its relevance in Guyana, definitely one that has merit.  In the context of the occasional press conferences that Guyana’s President Ali holds the question gains stronger traction.  Is the head of state of Guyana an artful dodger, or a clever prevaricator, in what he says, how he goes about responding to what is put before him?  Though there is some overlap in the description, the concern is if they fit, and by how much, the head of Guyana’s President Ali. It was the president who said from the very first days of his taking over the helm that he is about transparency and accountability.  Truth be told, we were early converts to that which held so much resonance because Guyana needs both urgently. Furthermore, the freshness of the new president meant that he was due the courtesy and consideration.  As such, the field was clear for him to prove his seriousness in managing the great responsibilities placed in his hands.  Stated differently, President Ali had to deliver cleanly on transparency and accountability.  No question that it was always going to be an uphill task in corruption plagued Guyana.  Accordingly, it was imperative that Guyana’s newest and youngest president be at his sharpest, straightest, and strongest.  What applied to President Ali holds true for any other president, which the record indicates is one littered with a litany of what was glaringly lacking in transparency and accountability.  From national elections to one audit finding after another under different governments to longstanding public perceptions and outcries, transparency and accountability from Guyana’s governments have been a lost cause.  Both are more of the imagination, with little relation to reality.  For emphasis, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali had to be on his best game to deliver what he swore that he would deliver. To our regret, the president has proven a big disappointment.  On the twin issues of transparency and accountability, he has progressed from gyrations about what is “confidential” to what is comical.  President Ali may deceive himself into believing that he is making mincemeat of Guyanese, when he tries those now patented gimmicks of his.  One is having an entourage that runs interference and works skillfully to steer media questioners from could make the president look less than favourable to safe grounds.  Vice President Jagdeo, as fine a presence as one could come across in the cleverness department, has lived high and heartily from the presence of such a protective media Palace Guard.  They are not mere distractions to the work of true Guyanese media professionals.  They are a danger to those seeking straight answers to simple questions that must be asked.  Clearly, President Ali has learned from the best in that kind of media game.  A cursory observation of his press conference practices shows how quickly he has grown into a power in his own right in media dodges and leadership prevarications. President Ali introduced a cute one in his last press conference.  When he was asked a question, the Guyana head of state swiftly turned around the question with a series of questions of his own on the journalist who first raised the question.  We do not know if the president came up with that dodge on his own, or whether it was the guidance given to him by one of his advisers.  Whatever the source of President Ali’s newfound practice, it did three things.  It cheapened his last press conference; it made him look like an elephant barging his way around a media meeting and barreling over those stirring his clever and lesser instincts.  And last, it confirmed how much transparency and accountability drives the president into states of irritability and reckless irresponsibility.  The simplest, straightest, thing that the circumstances required was for President Ali to come clean and make a start to what he committed to a few years hence.  He failed miserably. President Ali may not know, not care.  But few Guyanese are fooled by his media sleights of hand.  Guyana is under critical scrutiny, with his leadership holes are exposed.  He should work to fix those, and Guyana could be different.  He continues down his now old slippery slope, he could find himself plunging into ignominy. Related Similar Articles