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Sports $4.3B allocation to help in talent development – President Ali
– Government to focus on infrastructural development
By Rawle Toney
Kaieteur News – President Irfaan Ali said the $4.3B allocation for sports in the country’s proposed $781.9B National Budget is a reflection of his Government’s vision for the sector, calling it an important part of Guyana’s development trajectory.
The Head-of-State was at the time speaking on the sidelines of a Press Conference at State House yesterday, and responding to Kaieteur News’ question about what would be done for the country’s premier athletes.
“What are we doing about sports in terms of development of our athletes? First of all, we have to have the infrastructure and the facilities for them,” President Ali said.
President Irfaan Ali during his Press Conference at State House on January 17, 2023 (Office of the President Photo)
The Ministry of Finance’s budget summary broke down Sports’ $4.3B budget to focus on construction of multipurpose sporting facilities in the hinterland, construction of the state-of-the-art stadium at Palmyra, Berbice and the establishment of a National Cricket Academy.
“So we are building stadiums. We are improving all the infrastructure along the entire sports ecosystem, whether it’s the gymnasium, building new facilities in every single region, investing in a fund now to develop talent, and supporting football with an aim to bring all our national players in a full time camp for training so that we can develop a national team that can be competitive and can have a chance to qualify for the next football World Cup,” President Ali explained.
President Ali pointed to the construction of the new squash court facility, adding that they also aim to create “a whole ecosystem around cricket to train upcoming cricket stars, not only for national and regional cricket, but for international franchise and so on. So you will see us investing in new stadiums.”
In 2021, the Government allocated $1.5B to sports, followed by an injection of $3.2B in 2022 for a total of $4.7B in two years. Once ratified and past in the National Assembly, this year’s allocation will give sports a total of $9B under President Irfaan Ali’s administration.
However, athletes and sports enthusiasts bemoaned the lack of support given to national associations and athletes, particularly those representing Guyana.
While admitting athletes’ support is important, the President was adamant, “you can’t develop sports if you don’t have the infrastructure. How are we going to develop sports if we don’t have the stadiums, if we don’t have the training tracks, if we don’t have the gyms, if we don’t have the courts that are required to develop sports?”
President Irfaan Ali catching up on a light game of cricket in the National Park. (Office of the President photo)
President Ali, throughout his time in office, has been vocal on the need to do more for sports, even highlighting that the Government of Guyana will play an integral part in ensuring that basic standards are met whenever athletes are representing the Land of Many Waters.
However, he noted that there are several components in sports, “One, talent development. Talent development comes if you have the right infrastructure to develop the talent. We are developing the infrastructure and supporting the talent development at the same time. So if you look in the budget, you will see specific budgetary allocation is there for the development of the infrastructure and also an enhancement of the talent.”
On October 27, President Ali made a public apology to the nation’s athletes for the lack of support they receive.
He also assured athletes that under his watch, their sacrifices and challenges of the past, will not be their future.
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- infrastructural development, Ministry of Finance, National Budget, National Cricket Academy, President Ali
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