MOU to Benefit Athletics Students Studying in the U.S.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed earlier today between the ministries of Education and Sports, the Football Federation of Belize and the Belize Basketball Federation.  The M.O.U. will see the Government of Belize, through the previously mentioned ministries, providing financial assistance to as many as thirty students pursuing tertiary education in the United States.  The monthly assistance is to help the athletic students with living expenses.

Sergio Chuc, President, Football Federation of Belize

Sergio Chuc

“When we approached him about the potential of the Ministry of Education teaming up with the FFB to support our student athletes, from the very first meeting, he did not hesitate in saying, yes, we will be onboard, we will push as much as we can.  This has been a little over six months now and now we are actually putting it into black and white and our student athletes from the football community, I am sure are listening out there right now and I am sure, are more than pleased that starting January, the Government of Belize is going to assist all those students that are on partial scholarship with a six hundred Belize dollars monthly subsidy or stipend. So far, for this year, we sent out twenty-two students to do bachelors, masters, and a couple will do at the associate’s level, but the majority are at the bachelors level.  Next year, we want the program to continue and we already signed today that the ministry is committing themselves that they will continue with the support of the new student athletes that will enroll for August, 2023 at the U.S. universities.  So that will give our athletes a huge incentive to continue doing good in sports, and we must say also continue doing good in school and also doing good in life.”

Jacob Leslie

Jacob Leslie, President, Belize Basketball Federation

“Many of us don’t have access to education.  And for us to give thirty, sixteen and under kids the opportunity to get a tuition scholarship up to bachelor’s degree in Belize is monumental, and it touches me.  It impacts me because I never had that opportunity and I need these kids to understand the investment that this government is making in them.  It’s not something that we should take for granted.  It doesn’t happen everyday.”