Republic Bank Pledges $90,000 for Rightstart Cup Youth Football Tournament 2012

St. George's - September 21, 2012: The Republic Bank RightStart Cup Youth Football Tournament got off to a right start at the Alston George Park, Victoria, on Thursday September 20, 2012. It was a colourful display as twenty one (21) Secondary Schools paraded in the opening ceremony, attended by the Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Honourable Patrick Simmons, Republic Bank officials, representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Grenada Football Association.

The tournament is held annually among Secondary Schools students across Grenada and Carriacou in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Sports. Addressing the hundreds of athletes and students in attendance, Managing Director of Republic Bank, Mr. Keith Johnson encouraged the youth footballers to continue to emulate hard work, discipline and team spirit, all characteristics of success and good sportsmanship. He also outlined a number of incentives for the 849 players in the tournament:

"We are pleased to announce an increase in cash and prizes from $15,000 to $20,000.00. In addition, each player in the tournament has an opportunity to benefit from matching sums, up to $20.00 each, for initial deposits on RightStart accounts opened in the duration of the tournament."

The opening ceremony was followed by the traditional "kick off" between Republic Bank's Managing Director and the Minister of Youth Empowerment & Sports. The first match of the tournament was also featured, between defending champion in the Boys' U21, St. Mark's Secondary School, who good off to a start, defeating St. Rose Modern Secondary School 1-0.

Republic Bank has been sponsoring this tournament since 2003 and is very pleased with the high standard maintained over the years. The tournament features three competitions:  Boys1 U21, Boys U16 and Girls' U21. It is expected to run from September 20 - November 12, 2012.