Forde speaks on effect of COVID- 19 on Gold Cup Qualifiers

Stalled preparations, bounce back and boss moves…

By Jemima Holmes

The outbreak of coronavirus in Guyana has proven to be detrimental for many sports, by stalling local activities and cancelling international engagements altogether.

Wayne Forde

One fraternity that was preparing for an international stint, and an important one at that, is the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), whose officials were readying a team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 Qualifier.
Guyana’s journey to participate in their second CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament would have begun in Barbados on March 26th and then continued in their homeland on March 31st, with Guyana needing to supersede Barbados in order to go on to play the next leg of the qualifier.
However, that was brought to a sudden halt when COVID-19 made its grand entrance into the Caribbean region.

The Golden Jaguars’ local players, while in training back in February (Jemima Holmes Photo)

With cases reported in both Barbados and Guyana, and ports of entry being closed temporarily, the possibility of the Qualifiers being staged this month was completely quashed by CONCACAF, who put all their tournaments on hold.
In this regard, GFF President Wayne Forde, speaking exclusively with Guyana Times Sport, disclosed the effect that this postponement has had on the preparedness of the Senior National Men’s Team.
“I think the cancellation of the upcoming Gold Cup Qualifiers has really affected the preparation of the National Team. Of course, the cancellation was due to the preventative measures introduced by FIFA and CONCACAF, which meant that we had to abort all training of the National Team,” Forde said.
Probed about the preparedness of the National Team, should the virus be contained and the climate in the Caribbean return to normalcy, Forde explained that the Golden Jaguars would need ample time to get back on track after the break they’ve had. He expressed confidence that FIFA and CONCACAF would be cognizant of this and make the necessary adjustments.
“We definitely would need ample notice once the corona issue is brought under control globally and nationally as well. At a minimum, we would need about 6 weeks’ notice prior. The team would not be match-fit, after being away for even one week, to be preparing for a home-and-away fixture as is with the case of Barbados.
“Even one week is too much for the team to be inactive, so we would need a minimum of six weeks to get the team back up to speed and at the required level of fitness before we can undertake that fixture,” GFF President Forde explained.
He disclosed that the members of the National Team have been instructed to train personally while they are not preparing in the team setup.
“All of the players have been given homework. They’ve been given a training regimen by our fitness coach Mr. Wilson Toledo, and it’s expected that they will have the necessary discipline to follow that programme over the next couple of days,” Forde disclosed.
The Guyana Boxing Association had last week found themselves in a similar position: with an international tournament being cancelled, and they having to deal with the loss of airfares that had already been paid.
Forde shared that the Football Federation is conscious enough to make the necessary provisions so that they would not operate at a loss.
“Well, we have also paid for flights,” Forde said, “but we also approached the payment for flights in a very businesslike way, where we sat with the supplier and we negotiated terms. So, while we weren’t able to travel, based on the itinerary, we were able to secure the investment with the carrier, and we have up until one year to use it.”
In the face of all that is going on, Forde expressed genuine concern for the nation’s players, citing that the priority is for them to remain healthy.
“But the priority of course is for them to take care of themselves, exercise some of the preventative measures that the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the World Health Organization (WHO), have issued to ensure that they remain healthy,” he noted.
When the Gold Cup Qualifiers are eventually staged, should Guyana surpass Barbados, Guyana would then go on to lock horns with Trinidad and Tobago in order to punch their tickets to the 2021 event.