Golden Jags billed for historic FIFA series in Saudi Arabia

A fresh opportunity is on the horizon for Guyana’s Golden Jaguars, as they are set to compete in the first-ever FIFA Series 2024 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The FIFA Series initiative was launched in 2023, and is aimed at giving national teams exposure to compete against teams outside of their respective federations.
The first edition of the initiative will be played in the March 2024 international window, with Guyana’s senior men’s national football team, the Golden Jaguars, being one of the first teams in the world to have a chance at the friendly competition.
Guyana has been placed in the Saudi Arabia ‘A’ Group, alongside Cape Verde, Cambodia and Equatorial Guinea.

The official announcement of Guyana’s participation in the friendly initiative was made by Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde on Thursday afternoon, when he offered more information about the competition and voiced his hope that players can capitalize on opportunities there.
Forde divulged, “These friendly matches are part of a new initiative approved by the FIFA Council back in 2023; where, in every even-numbered year, they will host friendly matches across the six confederations, which will bring together teams that may not have had the chance to play against each other outside of a World Cup tournament. This is the first edition of the FIFA series, and the Guyana Football Federation is very proud that we have been selected to be a part of this inaugural initiative.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a completely different part of the world. It’s a brand-new experience for all of us, more so our players. The environment will be very different from what they are accustomed to in the Confederation of CONCACAF, and we hope that they will seize the opportunity to perform to their utmost and with the hope that they can catch the attention of some of the clubs out there in Saudi Arabia, and other scouts that will no doubt be monitoring those games,” Forde added about the new opportunities that await the national team.
Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz elaborated on what’s at stake for the Golden Jaguars regarding opportunities that can go their way, and how the games will benefit their World Cup Qualifiers’ preparation.
“Historically, Guyana Football Federation being a part of this project is huge. You know, even being considered, much less being selected. Sometimes we take things for granted, and think…Look at the teams in this thing, this is a huge opportunity! Apart from the history that Guyana, for the first time, will actually be playing in the Middle East, you know, which is another historic moment; the opportunities it presents for players, as President Forde said, to impress teams in Saudi Arabia, scouts….It gives us the opportunity before June to have at least the core of our players together so that we can evaluate going into June,” Shabazz related to media operatives present.
The Golden Jags boss further said, “First, I think it’s always been difficult to persuade the Caribbean player who’s based in the Caribbean playing what football can do for him or her. This opportunity helps to solve that problem. You know, we saw it, I wasn’t part of the team for Ethiopia, but it was a mind-blowing experience for them. So, going to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia exposes the athlete to (the) kind of benefit that could drive them to give a different level of commitment to football and the football life.”
While most of the local arm of the team are currently competing in the KFC Elite League, the players will go into training in a few days’ time. Touching on team composition for the Saudi Arabia assignment, Shabazz revealed that most of the locally-based players were part of the recent Nations League outfit.
“From the domestic players’ standpoint, we should have about 10 or 12 of them in the squad. They have been part of it in the qualification to League A, so they’re not really newcomers, although the league has thrown up some faces and some performances that have forced us to argue.
“You know, people look at our staff and think, but it has forced a lot of arguments. We’ve seen, you know, a couple youngsters come up: the boy from Slingerz who scored four goals in his debut game; you know, the other centre-back from GDF, Kevin Layne, returning to football from a knee injury,” the Head Coach revealed.
Shabazz went on to disclose that, given their emphasis on keeping the squad from March together for the World Cup qualifiers in June, approximately 2 international players would miss out on selection.
The Golden Jags will come up against Cape Verde and Cambodia on March 21st and 26th respectively in the upcoming international window. While Cambodia, out of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), is ranked below Guyana at 179th in the world, Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Cape Verde is ranked almost 92 places higher, at 65th in the world.
Algeria(CAF), Andorra (UEFA), Bolivia (CONMEBOL), South Africa (CAF), Azerbaijan (UEFA), Bulgaria (UEFA), Mongolia, (AFC), Tanzania (CAF), Bermuda (CONCACAF), Brunei (AFC), Guinea (CAF), Vanuatu(OFC), Bhutan (AFC), Central African Republic (CAF), Papua New Guinea (OFC) and Sri Lanka (AFC) are among the other countries that would compete in the first leg of the FIFA Series tournament in Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Sri Lanka in the upcoming international window. (Jemima Holmes)