 St. Lucia's semi-professional football league, SPFL, got its official launch Friday evening, giving the realization of a concept aimed at bringing the sport of football to a critical new level in St. Lucia. The government of St. Lucia, through the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports in collaboration with the St. Lucia Football Association, came together to set up the SPFL. The theme of leveraging football to transform lives was a common thread that permeated deliveries from the various speakers during the launch. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, Mary Wilfred welcomed the new entity and emphasized the significance of its launch. This launch marks a significant development in the sporting community, specifically in the discipline of football. As a nation, we have dreamt of many possibilities that sports can bring to players, coaches, administrators, among others. This evening, we have awakened from one of the dreams and paused to mark a historic shift in sports, signaling the maturing of an independent nation. Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to salute all those who have debated, discussed, hypothesized, conceptualized, even those who have lost faith and are present here to witness this evening's extraordinary proceedings. Minister responsible for youth development and sports, the Honourable Kenson Kazime announced that the Government of St. Lucia allocated initial capital of $1.3 million for the establishment of the league. The Government of St. Lucia remains committed to providing the necessary support to the sporting fraternity, especially the national governing bodies. One of our main policies in relation to the development of youth and sports is to increase participation and economic activity, particularly in disadvantaged communities. We believe that sports can make a significant contribution in our society for both the individual and indeed the communities. I am thrilled to see the manifestation of this competition and witness firsthand the tremendous impact and progress it will make in all of our communities. Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development and the youth economy, Hon. Philip J. Peer, disclosed that lots of cabinet hours went into discussing the formation of the league, which was a reflection of Government's passion for the transformation of the lives of St. Lucia. What we want is the holistic development of the people of St. Lucia and the most important thing to me is the world's transforming lives, because we need to change the lives of the people of this country through any means necessary, and these means must be positive and sports and football is one of the ways in which we can do that. And this is why, in spite of what people say, in spite of the criticisms, most of it's unfounded, the government has and will continue to invest a substantial amount in the youth of St. Lucia. We created the youth economy, where for the first time a government is directly investing millions of dollars in the economic empowerment of young people. The semi-professional football league is set to kick off on March 3, 2024. The first game, schedule for the minute of Philip Park. From the Ministry of Development and Sports, I'm Ryan O'Brien.