The thanksgiving service for late head coach and founder of the MVP Track Club, Stephen ‘Franno’ Francis, will be held on Saturday, August 15, at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.

In making the announcement during the sitting of Parliament on Tuesday, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, said Francis’s untimely departure has left a void not only in the track and field community but also in the soul of the nation.

“Franno was not just a coach; he was a master architect of human potential who redefined the boundaries of what Jamaican athletes could achieve on the global stage. His journey, characterised by an uncompromising commitment to excellence and a fierce, almost stubborn belief in local talent, transformed the landscape of sprinting forever,” she said.