Over 500 athletes and officials expected for IGG

Nov 13, 2022 Sports

– 2022 IGG set for November 22 – 25

Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, along with the National Sports Commission, has confirmed all final details regarding the staging of this year’s Inter Guiana Games in Guyana, November 25 – 27.

Steve Ninvalle new latest

Guyana will be joined by French Guiana and Suriname at the Championship which is expected to feature over 500 athletes and officials.

The three nations will compete in the disciplines of football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, badminton, swimming and cycling.

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, told Kaieteur News that French Guiana will only field teams in basketball and track and field, while Suriname will put forward a female team in football.

The National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue, the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora, the National Aquatic Centre, as well as the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and National Gymnasium are the venues being used for the return of the IGG.

The return of the IGG is a manifestation of a promise made by President Irfaan Ali and Suriname’s Head-of-State, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, following discussions last August during a State visit to Guyana.

During President’s Santokhi four-day visit, discussions were held on a series of areas to strengthen bilateral agreements, including sports.

The return of the Inter-Guiana Games according to President Ali is part of the Guyana and Suriname ‘People to People’ partnership, which he said is “bringing our people together, in a safe space that they can share and appreciate each other.”

President Ali, at a joint Press Conference with President Santokhi, said the two countries are committed to re-energising the IGG, bringing back the IGG, bringing back the IGG cultural forum/platform that was started, “so we can have sports, culture and technological exchanges as part of forging greater unity, trust and understanding of our people.”

Catering to student-athletes at the U-20 level, the IGG was last held in 2017 in Suriname and first took place in 1967.

Former National Football player, ‘QT’ Donald was sent to Suriname by former President Forbes Burnham to work with the Surinamese on Guyana’s behalf to outline the games that were formed as a means of fostering bilateral relations, through sports between the two countries.

Football (basketball started in 1972) was the first sport played between Guyana and Suriname at the Inter-Guiana Games.

The two countries battled for the Forbes Burnham/Johan Pengel Trophy. Johan Adolf Pengel, in 1967, served as Prime Minister of Suriname.

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