Additional exposure needed at the Under-20 level, says Joseph

By Jemima Holmes

There are only two games left to be played before the inaugural KFC Under-20 Independence Cup tournament concludes.
Reflecting on the tournament, which began in April, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Youth Development Officer Brian Joseph believes that more work still needs to be done at the Under-20 level.
The competition, which first began in the nine regional member associations and boiled down to a national tournament, will see newcomers Dynamic FC and the renowned Santos FC battle for a shot at the grand prize.
Given the length of the tournament and the number of players that were involved, one would think that a few surprises would arise, but according to Joseph, this was not the case.
“Outside of what Dynamic FC have been able to do so far, there haven’t been any real surprises,” the Youth Development Officer stated.

Not taking away from the quality of the tournament that was hosted, Joseph explained some of the issues at the Under-20 level and revealed that some improvements were witnessed over time.
“We’re not very happy with the level of the tournament in terms of the quality of play and that is expected. We came understanding that at the U-20 level, there hasn’t been a lot of football playing and as a result and once the tournament started, teams have been able to find their way. Now we’re seeing a little better quality,” Joseph disclosed.
Usually, Under-20 players find themselves in a peculiar position given the fact that they are now out of the academy system, but most players are not immediately put in a senior team. This situation causes a certain lack of training and exposure for those developing players. Joseph explained how this situation could affect the improvement of upcoming players.

“Under-20 is a very technical area, because, for example, in the academy structure, there is no provision for U-20 football. So with no provisions, it means that the Clubs will have to fill that mantle and it is not being done at the club level. It means now that if we want to fill that gap, we need private promoters; we need these teams training on a weekly basis so that these players can graduate into the senior teams,” the Youth Development Officer explained.
As such, he made a plea to member associations, clubs and corporate Guyana to jump on board with the GFF in order to better football at the Under-20 level, and by extension, senior football.
“This tournament, KFC, came on board and we were able to do it nationally, but this cannot be the mandate of the GFF to run national tournaments alone. The MAs (member associations) need to run tournaments so that they can develop, so when the GFF steps in, we have the players coming in at a much higher level and raising the bar,” he said.
Meanwhile, the GFF representative was questioned about the scouting process for the upcoming CONCACAF Under-23 World Cup qualifier. When asked if they were able to identify any new talent, Joseph answered in the negative, while stating that there might have been two to three players who have earned themselves an invite. Outside of this, the shining stars are those who have been playing consistently.
“It’s unfortunate, but we basically know all the players. The players who have been standing out are those who would have played in the youth teams coming up. So we haven’t found a new gem, what we’re seeing is experienced players continuing to shine,” Joseph revealed.
The last showdown of the inaugural KFC tournament was initially slated for Monday, July 1, but the semi-finals and final were postponed owing to inclement weather.
Dynamic FC and Santos FC will battle for the $500,000 top prize, while Fruta Conquerors and Botofago FC will vie for third place.