Racing Madrid President Nijjar, ex-player Gutiérrez in Guyana on official visit

The President of Spain’s Racing Madrid Football Club (RMFC), Steve Nijjar, and former Real Madrid player Rubén de la Red Gutiérrez are presently in Guyana on an official tour to evaluate ways to collaborate with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to support and nurture young aspiring footballers.
The duo arrived in Guyana on February 14. This is the first-ever visit here for de la Red Gutiérrez, a former midfield maestro for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, and UEFA pro licensed coach.
The men have already met with the GFF Council, and will be meeting with the national youth team coaches and GFF Academy Training Center coaches. Additionally, they will be conducting training sessions for the national under-17, and observing sessions with the Under-20 national team during the five-day visit.
GFF President Wayne Forde has said the trip was organised to provide RMFC with a comprehensive understanding of the “layers of Guyana’s youth football programme, which incorporates the ATC, Access, Tiger Rentals Under-13 League Cup and NAMILCO ‘Flour Power’ U17 Intra-Association League. These components form the bedrock of our junior national team programme.”

In October 2023, GFF President Wayne Forde and RMFC President Nijjar inked a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement is a first between the GFF and a European club.
It centres on coaching education and providing opportunities for exceptionally talented young male and female players to garner exposure and secure placements in prestigious European clubs and academies.
The partnership also includes the development of women and elite players here.
RMFC, a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain, boasts an affiliation with Genova International School, recognized as the world’s largest and most successful academy for player pathways and development.
GFF Technical Director Bryan Joseph has added, “We are pleased that we are now experiencing the first tangible of this ground-breaking partnership with Racing Madrid. Ruben’s visit here is directly linked to our vision for the development of our ‘High performance’ programme for youth players. We are mapping out this with input from Ruben through his extensive work with elite programmes across the world. FIFA has already approved Guyana’s application for the development of our national youth academy, and now we’re adding the expertise.
“We are going to have the support of FIFA through its Regional Technical Consultant Mr. Lenny Lake, to ensure that our programme aligns with, and enjoys the blessings of, FIFA through the talent Development Scheme programme which is the brainchild of the great Arsene Wenger.
Nijjar has said, “These are exciting times in the Guyanese Football Federation, and we are very honoured to be part of the success that we are about to achieve. RMFC and Racing City Group are looking forward to being an integral part of this success. My partner Morris Pagniello and I are committed to the GFF and its development.”
De la Red Gutierrez has said, “I am happy to be here, and I already like what I see. I wanna share some good ideas, and it is good to learn of other cultures and other mentalities. Guyana have so much potential, and I am happy to experience this through football.”
Nijjar and de la Red Gutiérrez are scheduled to depart Guyana on February 20.