Schoolboy Footballers Leave for Norway

Members of the Alpart/Essex Valley All Stars football team on Monday (July 21) left for Oslo, Norway, to participate in that country’s under-14 football cup competition.
The squad will compete with 1,500 teams from 53 countries including Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Lucia, and return home on August 4.
The boys first entered the competition in 1999, and have been chosen from 15 schools located in South Manchester and South St. Elizabeth. Coach of the team, Andrew Bent says is expecting them to do well. “We have always performed well in our division and the boys are looking forward to taking home a trophy this year,” he said.
Principal of Nain Primary and Junior High, Basil Bennett will accompany the team on the trip, and will seek to establish a curriculum on the Norway experience, which he intends to have taught in the participating schools in the competition.
At a send-off reception for the boys where parents, residents of communities in the parishes and Alpart’s officials gathered, they were encouraged by Public Relations Manager at Alpart, Lance Neita, to make use of the opportunity. “So far you have demonstrated discipline, and I want to commend you for it, and if you take this to Norway you would have done your country well. Remember that this competition is not only about winning trophies, it is about character building, learning from other cultures and educational development for the participants,” Mr. Neita said.