Director of Sport: “A lot of work to be done”

Newly-appointed Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, is bracing for a busy tenure as he seeks to help in the growth and development of sport across Guyana.

The current President of the Guyana Boxing Association was on May 30 appointed to the role after the six-member National Sports Commission (NSC) held consultations with Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr.

“From a personal perspective, I would like to thank the Honourable Minister Mr. Charles Ramson and the Commissioners of the National Sports Commission for having the confidence to appoint me to that post,” Ninvalle said.

“From a national perspective, there is a lot of work to be done and I intend to seek the guidance of the Honourable Minister and to work closely with the Commission in order to get sport to where the Government of Guyana wants it to be.”

“I don’t expect that it will be an easy task, but if we have all hands on deck the sky is the limit for Guyana and that is what I expect.”

The NSC consists of Co-Director of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation Kashif Muhammad (Chairman), Guyana Cricket Board President Bissoondyal Singh, Guyana Tennis Association President Cristy Campbell, Guyana Hockey Board President Phillip Fernandes, Chartered Accountant Chetram Ramdial and Dellon Davidson.

Muhammad told News Room Sport that the NSC members had their first official meeting and the first item on the agenda was the appointment of the Director; it was unanimously decided that Ninvalle was the best choice based on his stellar contributions to sport over the years in Guyana and the Caribbean.

Ninvalle, who has been involved with sport since 1993, is a former Sport Journalist and Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

He is an award-winning administrator, known for transforming amateur boxing in Guyana and the region.

Ninvalle previously served as Chairman of the Caribbean Boxing Steering Committee from 2019 until his resignation in October 2020. He was also the first Caribbean Executive Committee Member of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), elected in 2014.

Three years later, he was elevated to the Executive Bureau of AIBA, before assuming the position of Chairman of AIBA’s Youth Commission in February 2019. During that period, he was also elected Vice-President of the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC).

Among the functions of the NSC as listed in the National Sports Commission Act of 1993, is to promote sport and its organisation by all available methods, including the making of grants therefor; provide for the establishment, erection, maintenance of sporting and other recreational facilities; and advise the Minister on development and promotion of sport generally.