NAMILCO reaffirms support of Fruta Football Festival

Dec 22, 2008 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin
Managing Director of the National Milling Company (NAMILCO), Bert Sukhai has approved the efforts of organizers of the just concluded Namilco Football Festival and has endorsed his company’s support for the 2009 edition of the tournament.

Sukhai made this commitment at the Company’s headquarters, Eccles East Bank Demerara, where players and officials gathered for the prize giving ceremony, Friday afternoon last.

The Milling Company boss subsequently urged the executives of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to use the recent upsurge of football activities to render support to the sport.  He further urged the directors of the sport to foster good relations among affiliates towards the good of the game.

“You must be able to rise above conflict if you are to witness continued development,” Sukhai advised. He bemoaned Guyana’s present status in the international rankings noting that countries such as Suriname and Barbados are now enjoying higher rankings than Guyana.

“Guyana was once ranked at number 10 by the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) which represented a higher ranking than Suriname and Barbados, now these two countries are way ahead of us in the rankings,” Sukhai noted. “We must strive to change this situation,” Sukhai admonished. He subsequently urged the footballers to commit themselves to a turnaround of their fortunes.

To this end, Sukhai lauded the efforts of the executive of the Fruta Conquerors Football Club in the acquisition of their clubhouse. The NAMILCO head then wondered aloud of the wisdom of the decision taken by organizers to shift the finals from their headquarters, at the Tucville Playfield, to the National Stadium.

He noted that the ploy failed to impact on crowd attendance. “I noted about 500 persons at the finals and I am thinking, was it a wise move to shift the tournament from the Tucville Ground to this venue?” 

Sukhai subsequently praised the executive of the Fruta Conquerors Club for their assiduous effort in realizing the construction of their Clubhouse.

In response to Sukhai’s remarks, President of the Fruta Conqueror’s Football Club, Marlon Cole, noted that this is the second year running that NAMILCO has acquiesced to corporate support for the tournament. He expressed profound gratitude to the Directors of NAMILCO while complimenting the various clubs for the high level of discipline exhibited.

“I am happy to report that the tournament has been incident free,” Cole said. Touching on issues pertaining to monies derived from the just concluded tournament, Cole disclosed that the executive body of Fruta Conquerors had voted unanimously for the completion of the Clubhouse. As such, a large portion of the proceeds has been utilized to facilitate the completion of the clubhouse. Cole also revealed that some internal infrastructural works have been done.

The Fruta Conquerors President praised the entire membership for their diligent work which made the construction of the clubhouse a reality. He subsequently reached out an olive branch to the football fraternity. “While I expect the members of the Fruta Conquerors Club to make full use of the facilities, the clubhouse is also available to the entire football fraternity as well as the public. All we ask in return is that those using the facilities make a special commitment to do so with care.”

He further expressed gratitude to those that had an input in the construction of the clubhouse. “To this end I wish to make it clear that the construction of the clubhouse was made possible through the stringent efforts of The Guyana Football Association (GFA), NAMILCO and the Managing Director of the Guyana Beverage Company, Mr Robert Selman.”

He subsequently urged the general public to support NAMILCO so that the Company may continue to render corporate assistance to the Guyanese community.

Earlier in the programme Secretary of the Fruta Football Club, Lavern Fraser-Thomas delivered a report of the tournament.  She noted that the level of discipline exhibited by the players was of a very high standard. This was evident by the amount of red and yellow cards issued during play. For the entire tournament the referees were only required to issue 2 red, and 23 yellow cards. “This underlines the high level of discipline that was exhibited during the tournament,” Fraser-Thomas said.

Following the speeches, Captain of the Alpha Football Club, Leon Grumble received a check for $400,000, representing the first prize winnings, while second place Western Tigers received a check of $200,000. Sunburst Camptown and Fruta Conquerors received $100,000 and $50,000 for finishing in third and fourth places, respectively.

Elton Browne (Alpha United) and Manasseh Primo both scored 4 goals apiece and shared the trophy offered in this category.   Browne later returned to receive the Most Valuable Player award.

Ronson Williams (Alpha United) copped the prize for the best goalkeeper, while Runnel Gordon (BV Triumph) and Oswald Cornette (Fruta Conquerors) were awarded the Global Technology Computer Scholarship after they were nominated the two most promising players.

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