Digicel Schools Football Championship Early evaluation points to huge success

Aug 04, 2016 Sports

By Rawle Welch
There is no doubt that the Digicel Schools Football Championship has become one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting events on the annual sports calendar.
The Championship which had its genesis in 2011 has grown leaps and bounds since its inauguration, to the extent where many communities outside of the traditional home of football (Georgetown) have now easily surpassed it in relation to crowd support.
Digicel as a corporate entity had stated from the onset that their primary aim is to help in the development of the sport and as a responsible member of the business community felt the need to give back in a sizeable way.
Apart from the above mentioned aspiration, the Company through its ambitious and costly endeavour has provided many young Guyanese the opportunity to not only see different parts of this vast country, but also have a first hand experience of the diverse cultures that exist among the six races, while also impacting positively on small and medium scale businesses as well.
The early evaluation of the just concluded sixth edition of the championship would indicate that the event was a huge success in many areas and praise much be given to the Organising Committee and all the other related staff who did a tremendous job in making the esperience even better than last year.
Six years might sound like a long time, but because of the enormity of the event which traverses all ten regions of this country it could become a logistical challenge for a Company whose principal responsibility is telecommunication.
This is not to say that more cannot be done to make the championship even better, but the sterling efforts of those connected with the event should not go unnoticed.
Initially, they faced criticisms from many quarters which in some instances were no fault of theirs, but over the years have made a concerted effort to improve in every area that had much contention previously.
This year saw an encouraging reduction in institutions trying to cheat the system by declaring ineligible players and this was due to the rigid scrutiny that they now face by the tournament’s co-ordinators who would have constructed a proper database of participating schools and players’ qualification to play.
Another achievement was the fact that the number of schools that participated continues to rise and this is a clear display of the confidence that schools are radiating as it pertains to the whole organisation of the tournament.
This year saw a new champion being crowned in Chase Academic Foundation who dethroned four-time champions Christianburg / Wismar in a tough battle in the final last Sunday.
The mere fact that eventually an institution was able to defeat one that many felt was unbeatable is undeniable evidence of schools seriousness to win the coveted title.
The stakes are high, the rewards are substantial and schools have laid down the gauntlet and signaled clearly that the $1million first prize or any other of the three could do wonders for infrastructural development and asset acquisition for their respective institutions.
Then there are many other prizes to be won like being a regional champion so participation in the tournament has other benefits in addition to the prospect of being spotted for talent.
Digicel has worked strenously to improve the product and the future seems bright in terms of their continued involvement as principal host.

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