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Govt to assist Fruta Conquerors in ConCaCaf Championship

Fruta Conquerors head coach Mr. Sampson Gilbert (right) interacts with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Hugh Todd

─ Foreign Affairs Minister

─ lauds team discipline

The Government has committed to assisting Champions of the 2019 Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) elite league, Fruta Conquerors, in their upcoming ConCaCaf Caribbean Club Shield Championship.

The tournament will be played in Curacao in April.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Hugh Todd met the team at the Tucville Sports Ground on Sunday where he congratulated the players on their selection for the tournament.

“Once you are going to be part of a competition, you need a budget and support. You need sponsorship and financial support to be able to meet the demands that are required. I will have a conversation with the (club) president and the coach and I will also take that forward to the President himself to see what assistance we can give you from the level of Government,” Minister Todd told the young players.

The Minister reminded the team that “you are not only competing as a club, but as a club representing Guyana.”

“I want to commend you for your commitment to the club and your drive and passion for football and the discipline that you are showing here because we need this kind of discipline across Guyana to help to build this country.”

Minister Todd said Guyana has its largest budget yet for sports development. Additionally, with the coming oil wealth, more money would be made available to invest in the sport.

“Guyana is going to expand and naturally, we will have more to give to sports. So, once you commit yourselves, you can have a long life in the area of sports because that is part of our development trajectory,” Minister Todd relayed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Hugh Todd addressing the team

He reminded the young players to be balanced, both on the field and in the classroom.

Head Coach, Mr. Sampson Gilbert said the team is looking forward to the support from the Government and other stakeholders.

“I want to welcome the Minister. It is a good gesture, as a Government, it is totally necessary that we have these kinds of interactions to have better society where the people are confident in the Government, so that the Government could make commitments to the people.

I really appreciate this and I am looking forward for the support. I am indeed looking forward to develop a very potent relationship with the Minister and the Government as a whole. The Government and the people are supposed to be one, and this is testimony of Government reaching out to the people to bridge that gap,” he told DPI. This year will be the club’s second opportunity to participate in the ConCaCaf tournament, having participated back in 2019. Mr. Gilbert said his team looks forward to delivering a much better performance this time around.