St. John’s, Antigua: Wednesday, January 31 st , 2024: On the heels of a successfully staged Calvin
Ayre Foundation (CAF) Players’ Identification Combine, which concluded on Sunday, January 25 th , at
the St. Anthony’s Secondary School, CAF is continuing its partnership with the Generation Next
Football Club (GNFC), with a sponsorship for 2024 of over EC$240,000.
The continuation of sponsorship, stemming from a partnership that was formed in 2018 between
CAF and GNFC, was announced at a brief ceremony on Wednesday at Canada Place, and was
received by President of GNFC, Richard “Ricky” Santos and Administrative Assistant, Jonathan
Thoroughgood.
Media Relations Specialist for the Ayre Group and Manager of the Calvin Ayre Foundation, Jamilla
Kirwan expressed CAF’s sentiments in supporting the Club for the 6 th year.
“It is a pleasure to partner with the Generation Next Football Club. This year, along with the
Combine marks our 6 th installment. We are just happy to see the caliber of coaches who came down
to assess our young people with the aim of creating pathways for them, and happy to play our role
in helping them achieve their goals through education and the sport that they love, Football.”
Santos expressed sincere thanks to the Foundation for its commitment to the youth of Antigua and
Barbuda, through it giving pillars of Sports and Education.
“We’d like to thank the Calvin Ayre Foundation profusely, for the generous sponsorship for the two
events that we have planned over the years and for the future, which is the Calvin Ayre Foundation
Advance Academy – which runs from September to June every year – and also the Calvin Ayre
Foundation’s Player Identification Combine, which runs once a year, where we bring down some
significant scouts.”
Santos explained that this year’s Combine saw two former Premier League Managers; Micky
Adams, former manager for Leicester City, Southampton, Sheffield United and Brentford, and Garry
Monk, who is the former manager for Swansea and Leeds United, in attendance. Representation
also came from Hartpury and Brookehouse Colleges in the UK; University of District of Columbia in
the US, and scouts for the United Soccer League (USL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) teams.
“As everyone can appreciate,” Santos added, “the cost factor involved in having these relationships
and bringing these professional scouts together to offer scholarship opportunities to our young and
budding footballers, for international high schools, universities and colleges, and now professional
contract opportunities, is huge. We thank CAF for seeing the vision we have at GNFC.”
The EC$240,000 donation will support the Club’s sporting initiatives for managing the sporting
initiatives for 2024 for the CAF Advance Football Academy; to include coaches’ and players’
uniforms, coaches’ fees, footballs and other training and sporting gear. In addition, CAF’s donation
facilitates SAT classes for the young players and the staging of the CAF Player Identification
Combine.