President David Granger and Minister of State Joseph Harmon on Tuesday met with the CONCACAF delegation, comprising President Victor Montagliani, Caribbean Football Director Horace Reid, Member Association President Marco Leal, President of St Marteen Football Association Fabrice Baly, and other country football Presidents during a break in cabinet deliberations.
This meeting, which was scheduled as a courtesy call, proved to be very fruitful as the CONCACAF President Montagliani committed to assisting the Government of Guyana with any initiative that seeks to improve CARICOM Member States’ footprint in football.
During the meeting, President Granger highlighted the importance of ensuring that young people get greater access to sports and sporting facilities. He stated that the emphasis should be on bringing more people who are at the margins of national development to the centre.
President Granger also informed the delegation of the Upper Mazaruni District Games where Indigenous communities come together and play football after walking for some two days to get to the venue.
President Granger highlighted this as an event worth recording and described it as a testament to the love of football that resides not only on the coast, but also in the hinterland.
Minister Harmon thanked Montagliani and the delegation for choosing Guyana as one of their ports of call and informed the group that their importance and the importance of football to the Government is evident in their being able to meet with the President and Minister given that Tuesday is set aside for the statutory weekly cabinet meeting.
Montagliani presented both President Granger and Minister of State Harmon with an emblem which signified ONE CONCACAF. This vision of ONE CONCACAF began when Montagliani vied for the position he now holds as President of CONCACAF.
In an interview during the elections he is quoted as saying ‘that a better CONCACAF will emerge from its dark past if it fundamentally views itself as “one”, rather than three independent parts coming together to form a whole.’
