{"id":13436,"date":"2025-09-26T11:30:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T15:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/?p=13436"},"modified":"2025-09-26T11:30:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T15:30:22","slug":"gfa-together-with-the-ministry-of-education-and-the-ministry-of-sports-launches-national-primary-schools-football-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/gfa-together-with-the-ministry-of-education-and-the-ministry-of-sports-launches-national-primary-schools-football-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"GFA Together With The Ministry Of Education And The Ministry Of Sports Launches National Primary Schools Football Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The Grenada Football Association (GFA), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports, officially launched its highly anticipated Primary School Football Competition during a press conference held on Wednesday, 24 September at the GFA headquarters.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The event also marked the official welcome of 2 new technical appointments to the national football ecosystem: Melanie Thomas, GFA\u2019s new Coordinator of Women\u2019s Football, and Neil Murphy, newly appointed FIFA Talent Coach for Grenada.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A collaborative push for youth football development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the head table for the launch event were key education and sports stakeholders:<\/p>\n<div id=\"nowgd-d3ed4eb6d3a240610ae161daf5985128\" class=\"nowgd-d3ed4eb6d3a240610ae161daf5985128 nowgd-ap-m-300x300-monthly\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Hon. Delma Thomas, Minister for Sports<\/li>\n<li>Ernest Richardson, 2nd Vice President of the Grenada Union of Teachers (GUT)<\/li>\n<li>Denva Welsh, Curriculum Development Officer for Physical Education &amp; Sport, Ministry of Education<\/li>\n<li>Marlon Glean, President of the GFA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Together, they emphasised the importance of reintroducing structured football at the primary level as a means to instil discipline, promote healthy lifestyles, and identify future football talent from an early age. Students and teachers from several participating schools were present, adding energy and excitement to the event.<\/p>\n<p>Roderick Griffith, National Coordinator of Primary School Football, and Sheldon Carmichael, Lead Football Officer for St Andrew, also attended, with Carmichael leading the officials\u2019 oath ceremony, signalling the formal commencement of the nationwide programme.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_120008\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-120008\">\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_120008\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-120008\" style=\"width: 1379px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-120008 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nowgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image001-2.jpg?resize=1379%2C919&#038;ssl=1\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1379px) 100vw, 1379px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nowgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image001-2.jpg 1379w, https:\/\/nowgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image001-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nowgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image001-2-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/nowgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image001-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/nowgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image001-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1379\" height=\"919\" data-pin-no-hover=\"true\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-120008\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L-R: Roderick Griffith, Denva Welsh, Hon. Delma Thomas, Marlon Glean, and Ernest Richardson. Photo: GFA<\/figcaption><\/figure><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-120008\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Strengthening football pathways: New appointments introduced<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Following the launch announcement, GFA President Marlon Glean proudly introduced and welcomed Melanie Thomas and Neil Murphy to Grenada and to their respective roles.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Melanie Thomas, a respected advocate for gender equity in sport, takes on the role of Coordinator of Women\u2019s Football, where she will lead efforts to expand girls\u2019 and women\u2019s participation across all levels of the game<\/li>\n<li>Neil Murphy, appointed by FIFA as Talent Coach under its global Talent Development Scheme, will focus on developing elite players and strengthening technical capacity across youth and national teams<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>President Glean described both appointments as \u201ccritical to the strategic approach of the GFA\u2019s long-term vision of building sustainable football pathways that start in the schoolyards and extend to the international stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A vision for domestic growth with global alignment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In his remarks, President Glean tied the developments to the GFA\u2019s wider mission to build a comprehensive, inclusive football ecosystem in Grenada, aligned with FIFA and Concacaf\u2019s development mandates. \u201cThis is about building from the ground up,\u201d he stated. \u201cWe are investing in our youngest players, empowering women and girls, and bringing elite-level coaching expertise to nurture Grenadian talent. These are not just programmes and appointments; they are stepping stones toward a brighter football future for Grenada and the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The press conference concluded with questions from the media, photo ops, interaction with students, and a strong sense of optimism surrounding the new football chapter now unfolding across the tri-island state.<\/p>\n<p><em>GFA<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The Grenada Football Association (GFA), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports, officially launched its highly anticipated Primary School Football Competition during a press conference held on Wednesday, 24 September <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/26\/gfa-together-with-the-ministry-of-education-and-the-ministry-of-sports-launches-national-primary-schools-football-tournament\/\" title=\"GFA Together With The Ministry Of Education And The Ministry Of Sports Launches National Primary Schools Football Tournament\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-sports"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?fit=1377%2C644&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?fit=1377%2C644&ssl=1",1377,644,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg",1377,644,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg",1377,644,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?fit=300%2C140&ssl=1",300,140,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?fit=1024%2C479&ssl=1",1024,479,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?fit=1377%2C644&ssl=1",1377,644,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?fit=1377%2C644&ssl=1",1377,644,true],"mh-magazine-slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?resize=1030%2C438&ssl=1",1030,438,true],"mh-magazine-content":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1",678,381,true],"mh-magazine-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?resize=678%2C509&ssl=1",678,509,true],"mh-magazine-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?resize=326%2C245&ssl=1",326,245,true],"mh-magazine-small":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image003-e1758895672563.jpg?resize=80%2C60&ssl=1",80,60,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"adminrfm","author_link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/author\/adminrfm\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/category\/sports\/local-sports\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Local Sports<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The Grenada Football Association (GFA), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports, officially launched its highly anticipated Primary School Football Competition during a press conference held on Wednesday, 24 September 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