GFF President reveals plans for Barbados engagement

…Hails Super 16 as a success

By Jemima Holmes

The Guyana Football Federation began the year with a bang, hosting the GFF Super 16 final on January 1st. This final was hosted at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) at Bourda, and it gave a glimpse of Guyana’s football glory of times past, with scores of energetic supporters being in evidence, and a thrilling encounter unfolding between Fruta Conquerors and GDF FC, which was won by the latter.

GFF President Wayne Forde, reminiscing, has declared himself pleased with the way the tournament had unfolded. While it still has a far way to go, he said, the Federation is prepared to return the glory of year-end football. In a question-and- answer session with this publication, Forde revealed the following:

Q: Do you see the GFF Super 16 as a success?
Forde: “I think the Super 16 was a very successful tournament, one of the better ones that we’ve been able to pull off in recent times. At the launch at Pegasus, I did make a pronouncement that the management team, my internal staff, and some of our partners…made a commitment, we challenged ourselves to deliver a good tournament. I think in every area of operation we were able to meet some of the goals we set ourselves.”

Q: What were some challenges that you faced?
Forde: “Those were all challenging undertakings, but if you really want to grow the Super 16 brand, you’re going to have to take the brand into different destinations, if you want the fans to enjoy the football.”

The Quest to return to the Gold Cup
With the local competition behind them, the GFF will now shift their focus to a number of international tournaments at the CONCACAF level, inclusive of the male and female Under 20 engagements and Female U17 Championships.
The most important engagement is the Gold Cup 2021 qualification process. Guyana will face off with Barbados in a home-and-away game on March 26 (away) and 31 (home) respectively. After that, if they are successful, they will take on Trinidad and Tobago.

Here’s what the GFF boss had to share about the team’s preparation:
Q: How are preparations for the Barbados encounter going?
Forde: “The short answer to the question is that we’re doing what we can afford to do. We have four national teams being prepared at the same time. This is unprecedented for Guyana Football. We have the Under 17 Girls, the Under 20 Girls, the Under 20 Boys and the Senior Men’s National Team.”

Q: Can we expect the National Team to play any friendlies?
Forde: “We are negotiating friendly matches, but whatever final agreements are put into place for friendly matches have to be done in a very economical way. We just do not have the funds that would allow us to engage in international travel for friendlies, having teams here and hosting them for long periods; we do not have those resources.”

Q: How confident are you that the team will be ready?
Forde: “We’re doing what we can afford to do. I’m very confident that we have coaches that understand the limitations in which we have to operate and will do the best possible job that they can do within those limitations.”

Q: How do you plan to give local players more exposure?
Forde: “We approached the 2018 Nations’ League campaign with a strategy, and the strategy was to get to the Gold Cup; we’ve checked that box. We’re now pursuing a strategy that gives as much opportunity to our local players who need it and who’re hungry for it. We can do everything within our power to create the environment, to hire the right people, to help them grow and develop in the game; but they also need to have that hunger and desire.”

Q: What improvements have you seen under Coach Maximo’s watch?
Forde: “We saw in all of the games thus far that our local players really stood out in their performances. Trayon Bobb, Daniel Wilson, these are guys that have been putting in the work and really stood out. So I think that the work that he’s been doing in developing the local players has been remarkable; and it’s not just a passion, it’s the obligation and responsibility of the national federation to do everything within its power to ensure that the players we develop at home are given equal and fair opportunity to be part of a programme that pushes them to discover the limits of their God-given talent.”
It is safe to say that the Guyanese football fraternity can expect a spirited fight from the Golden Jaguars outfit, as they hope to make a second appearance at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2021.
What will be more interesting to see is the number of local players who will be called up for these engagements. Last year’s CONCACAF Nations League teams boasted a balance of local and foreign- based players, quite an admirable gesture. However, with younger stars on the rise, and GFF’s mandate to develop youth players in place, one can only hope to see some fresh faces featured in Guyana’s national colours.