Eager students from several secondary schools around Georgetown, through collaborative efforts between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Ministry of Education (MoE), on Monday afternoon got the opportunity to meet and interact with members of Guyana’s senior men’s football team, the Golden Jaguars.
The likes of Omari Glasgow, Kelsey Benjamin, Stephen Duke- McKenna, Jeremy Garrett, Curtez Kellman, Colin Nelson and others not only answered questions from the youngsters but engaged them in brief skills training sessions.
Students from Queen’s College, Carmel Secondary, President’s College, Freeburg Secondary and New Campbellville Secondary were amongst those engaged at the MoE Ground on Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown.
Player-turned-coach Samuel Cox was also on hand at the event; he related to Guyana Times Sport that such initiatives can help inspire the next generation of national ballers.
A look at the Golden Jaguars’ interaction with students on Monday
Cox told this publication on Monday afternoon, “It’s fantastic for us to get around these young players, these young people who are doing well in their respective schools. You can see, just by the way the Golden Jags are interacting with these young players, hopefully, we’ve turned out today and inspired the next generation, some of those aspiring to one day be part of the national team programme.”
“You know, it’s been a long time since we’ve been over in Guyana – the national team, so I feel when we ever get an opportunity to come out into the community and reach out and hopefully, inspire, the more the better. Hopefully we’ve got through to maybe one or two, that would be a success,” the newest Assistant Coach on the block added.
Meanwhile, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde thought it was a fantastic chance for the national team to connect with their young fans.
“GFF remains steadfast in its commitment to nurturing young talents, and there is no better way to inspire them than by providing an opportunity to hear the firsthand experiences of the national players. These events are organised to inspire and motivate a new generation of national players,” Forde noted in an invited comment.
Meanwhile, teenage sensation Omari Glasgow, who began the CONCACAF Nations League (CNL) with a hat-trick on Saturday last, was equally optimistic about Monday’s event.
“It has been a while since the Golden Jaguars have played a game in Guyana so it’s good to be back home and come out and participate in this wonderful event with the schoolchildren and some of the young soon-to-be Golden Jags,” Glasgow shared.
Guyana v Bahamas today
On the other hand, the Golden Jaguars will not be all play no work, as they head into their second CNL 2023/ 2024 fixture this evening.
At the National Track and Field Center, West Coast Demerara (WCD), the senior men’s national team will face off with the Bahamas in their second of two games scheduled for this month.
“I think we had a really good start to the new Nations League programme, three points on the board against Antigua, who will probably see themselves in a similar position to us in terms of infrastructure and stature. So, really good result, I thought the boys were fantastic. You know, we’ve just got to keep building on that,” Cox told this publication about last Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda.
Turning his attention to today’s task, he shared, “We know Bahamas is going to be a challenge although they lost against Puerto Rico, they’re definitely going to want to get one back over us. Obviously, we played them a couple of years ago, so we know the task at hand, but we know what we bring to the table. Training has been excellent over the last week, the work that the coach and team and everybody else has put into the group.”
The renowned Golden Jaguar added, “Back in Guyana, back at Leonora, hopefully we can use it as a fortress again and get another three points on the board.”
Guyana were drawn in Group D of League B in the 2023/2024 CNL alongside Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Following the first round of games on Saturday last, Guyana sits at the second position in the Group, only on the account of a lesser goal difference than Puerto Rico, who defeated the Bahamas 6-1.
Kick-off at Leonora today is set for 18:00h local time. (Jemima Holmes)
