RUSAL, a Russian-owned company, operating under the name Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BGGI) has agreed to sponsor a football Academy that will see six villages in the Region 10 area benefitting from the expertise of Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Coach, Jimmy Mc Lean.
Mc Lean, who has been doing work in the Kwakwani area since April 2011 on behalf of the GFF, made the initial approach to RUSAL, which responded in the affirmative.
Head of Representative Office in Guyana, Vladimir Permyakov, in handing over the cheque to Mc Lean to purchase the equipment, stated that RUSAL was delighted to be on board with the federation to further enhance the development of the sport in the rural areas.
RUSAL he said, has been sponsoring a football team made up of workers to compete in the annual Kashif & Shanghai tournament as well as the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) League and is happy to be associated with the honing of talent from the grassroots level.
Coach Mc Lean, who has extensive experience in the area of youth development and also coached at the Pro League level in Trinidad and Tobago, has been silently working in Kwakwani since his return to Guyana.
Mc Lean, who is well respected in the coaching arena, producing footballers the caliber of Collie ‘Hitman’ Hercules and Kayode ‘The Magician’ Mc Kinnon to name a few, expressed his delight in being able to get the partnership of RUSAL in support of the development of players in the targeted areas.
These areas are Kwakwani Park, Water Front, Lamp Island, Aroima, Hururu and Ituni. Both boys and girls will be involved in the Academy which according to Mc Lean will kick off shortly.
“This has always been my aim and goal, to get these talented youngsters involved in an Academy that will further expand and guide their skills and overall development. Sessions will be held on the afternoons during the week and we will be culminating this Academy in August with a huge tournament when the players will get the opportunity to showcase what they would have learnt.”
Mc Lean expressed gratitude to RUSAL and the Guyana Football Federation for affording him such an opportunity.
“I am really excited about this Academy that will have both boys and girls. This is an extension of the GFF’s vision of youth development and we will see the fruits of this investment in the coming years.”
Mc Lean informed that he has an Assistant Coach in the person of Royston Hetimyer.