The Football 7s Association of T&T and the Miscellaneous Group have signed a partnership deal with the Inter Agency Task Force for this year’s tournament at St Paul’s Street Multi Purpose Complex, Port-of-Spain.
The initiative was also established to help curb the high level of crime within communities and assist young people cope with life’s challenges, while channelling their energies into positive and healthy lifestyles. The partnership is also aimed at enhancing the abilities of the youth in the areas of sports and physical activities.
A release yesterday stated that by wearing a uniform, young people will feel a sense of equality, regardless of their diverse background. It added that sports and physical activities can give youths a sense of belonging, loyalty and support, which may enable them to resist thoughts of suicide, truancy and the need to use illicit drugs.
The tournament will run under the auspices of the Football 7 Association. Miscellaneous will offer support through uniforms for all teams, footballs, matchday officials, including qualified referees, equipment, prizes and other forms of support.
Fitzgerald Hinds, Member for Laventille West and Minister of Works and Transport endorsed the tournament and commended Miscellaneous for supporting it. According to Hinds; “My first feeling is one of happiness, hope and excitement. I just walked the grounds and I saw hundreds of young people of the community all very keen to get involved in something they like, something that as Caribbean people, we have a natural passion for and more specifically as Trinbagonians, which is football.”
He noted “I think it is very exciting that the Hearts and Minds of the IATF of the Police Service in conjunction with Miscellaneous, would come together to use this very attractive business of football to bring the youngsters together and then once they are close, to work on their hearts and minds so that we can prepare them for the productive and prosperous lives that they will lead whether they stay in it or whether they venture into other things.
I endorse it fully and as a member of Parliament for Laventille, I welcome it fully because I know we have so much talent and hope here. This programme is a path to wellness, happiness and achievement. “
Joan Mendez, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs participated in the official kick-off to start the competition.
Action saw Laventille United defeating Beverly Hills 2-0 in an opening exhibition match on Saturday but the Beverly Hills men rebounded by trouncing Duncan Street in the first competitive match 6-0 courtesy a hat-trick by Isaiah Lewis in the Under 25 play-off on Tuesday. Kerron Boyce also got on the scoresheet with a double strike while Curtis Romany got the other in Beverly Hills’ win.
The tourney will run for the next two months with a dozen teams competing. The tournament has been a stepping ground for many ex-national players such as Stern John, Gary Glasgow, Curtis Gonzales, Kevin Graham, Russell Latapy, Densill Theobald, Arnold Dwarika, Kerwin Jemmot, Nigel Pierre ands Aurtis Whittley among others.
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2016 Football 7 Tournament kicks off
T&T Newsday Reports.
THE Football 7 Association of Trinidad and Tobago and the Miscellaneous Group have announced a partnership with the Inter-Agency Task Force for its 2016 Football tournament at the St Paul Street Multi-Purpose Complex, Port of Spain, on Saturday.
The tournament entitled the ‘Hearts and Minds’ Football Tournament is geared towards providing long term benefits in the social development of young people and immediate positive outcomes.
This initiative was established to help curb the high level of crime within the various communities and to assist the young people in channelling their energies into a positive and healthy lifestyle.
Their goal is to enhance the abilities within the youth in the areas of sports and physical activities, and to remove borderlines within the area of operation.
The tournament will run under the auspices of the Football 7 Association.
Miscellaneous will offer support through uniforms for all teams, footballs, match-day officials including qualified referees, equipment and prizes.
Member for Laventille West and Minister of Works and Transport, Fitzgerald Hinds, attended the launch and endorsed the tournament.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Sport, Joan Mendez, also attended and took part in the official kick off to open the competition.
“My first feeling is one of happiness, hope and excitement. I just walked the grounds and I saw hundreds of young people of the community all very keen to get involved in something they like, something that as Caribbean people we have a natural passion for and more specifically as Trinbagonians, which is football,” Hinds said.
Laventille United defeated Beverly Hills 2-0 in an opening exhibition encounter on Saturday.
Beverly Hills trounced Duncan Street in the first competitive match of the IATF “Hearts” and Minds” Under 25 Football 7s tournament which commenced at the St Paul Street Recreation Ground on Tuesday evening.
The match is the first of several that will run over a two-month period.