Jones assures systems in place for boxers and footballers stuck overseas

Director of Sport Christopher Jones has announced that the administration has put systems in place for the Guyanese boxers and footballers stuck overseas.

Four national boxers and two footballers are currently prevented from returning home after the country’s main ports of entry were closed off, owing to the coronavirus.

The boxers- Kevin Allicock (Bantamweight), Colin Lewis (Light Welterweight), Desmond Amsterdam (Middle Weight) and Dennis Thomas (Light Heavyweight)- are in Cuba, where they left for in January as part of an Olympic qualifier training, while footballers Jeremy Garrett and Curtez Kellman, presently on scholarship in the US, are stuck in Miami.

“The welfare and protection of the two footballers and four boxers are being adequately taken care of by the Government through the direct involvement of the Guyana Consulate in Miami as it relates to footballers; and in Havana, the Ambassador has made available to the boxers the Villa used by the Guyana Embassy to house visitors,” Jones said.

“I can safely say that the athletes are under the care of the Guyana Government and that they and their families have been informed as it relates to the current situation, and I am in contact on a daily basis. As soon as the present situation is improved and our airports are opened again, they will be returned home safely, but rest assured they are in good care even as it relates to the present global pandemic COVID-19.”