During their first media engagement in over a year, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has made a number of revelations regarding the National Team’s participation in the CONCACAF 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
From left: GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood; President Wayne Forde; Golden Jaguars Head Coach Marcio Maximo; and Head of Recruitment, Fizal Khan
With revelations on operating costs, key performance indicators and training, there was a lot for the local Federation to update the sports media on. However, the bombshell revelation came when GFF President Wayne Forde disclosed that Guyana have decided to give up their home game against the Bahamas.
“I would like to now announce that both fixtures in the upcoming window will be played in the Dominican Republic. This decision by the TTFA to move our game to the DR has contributed to our decision to transfer the match against Bahamas to that jurisdiction, as it makes more sense from a logistical and financial standpoint,” Forde divulged on Tuesday morning.
GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood
Further, he revealed this about that decision, “We are also somewhat hamstrung by the UK’s decision to place Guyana on its COVID-19 red list of banned countries. This decision means that clubs will not be able or willing to release players to travel to Guyana.”
When it comes to costs, he revealed that the GFF is spending a pretty penny for travel and other expenses. In addition, the Federation has been dispensing some $3.3M per month for the operation of the local national team.
Golden Jags Head Coach Marcio Maximo
“However, travelling to the DR does come at an additional cost, with the overall operating costs for this window coming in at Gy$27M plus a further US$10,000 that will be payable to the Dominican Republic Football Association for hosting the game against Bahamas.
“Because of the dates involved and the ongoing travel challenges, we have had to charter a flight to and from the DR at the cost of Gy$12M, which is included in our overall operating costs,” The football boss disclosed.
On the topic of the team’s composition, Forde explained that the full squad would be announced on the same date that the team is expected to depart Guyana, March 17.
Because the team is likely to comprise both locally and internationally-based players, Head Coach Marcio Maximo has again highlighted the importance of balance.
“It’s very important to understand the conception, the general concepts, because we’ll still compete strongly, but also with our young players inside the group. Because it doesn’t make sense you have a national programme if you don’t use our domestic players, (have them) included in the general group. That’s why we are doing this,” Maximo highlighted.
GFF President Wayne Forde
In the interest of what the Federation hopes to achieve this year, specifically by participating in this tournament, Technical Director Ian Greenwood had all the answers.
“We have two broad KPIs (key performance indicators) for this year. Number one in the World Cup qualifiers is to reach the second round. Okay, we feel with the work that’s being done on and off the field and support from the executive committee and corporate Guyana, we feel that this is a realistic target that we can attain.
“The second main KPI for this year is to improve on our Gold Cup performance from 2019,” Greenwood related.
Guyana is scheduled to take on Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas on March 25 and 30 respectively. Both games will be played behind closed doors, with no fans in attendance. Their next group games will come in the next window on June 4 and 8, against the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis and Puerto Rico respectively. (Jemima Holmes)
