Government of Guyana/Guyana Football Federation collaboration: Academy Training Centre launched in Region 7
With support from the Government of Guyana (GoG), the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has established an Academy Training Centre (ATC) at Waramadong village in the Upper Mazaruni community of the Cuyuni-Mazaruni district of Region Seven.
GFF President Wayne Forde (C), taking a photo opportunity with children who would benefit from the ATC programme in Region 7
It is the 10th centre to be established by the GFF in its groundbreaking national youth football development programme.
Launched in 2017, the ATC network seeks to provide boys and girls with age-specific, structured football training from certified coaches employed by the GFF Technical Department. The pioneering system has raised standards of the game across the nation and created a prolific talent pathway for Guyana’s national youth and senior teams.
“The launch of the first Upper Mazaruni ATC is an important step in the ongoing implementation of the GFF’s hinterland football development strategy,” GFF President Wayne Forde has said. “Through the ATC programme, more Indigenous coaches will be developed, and many more young boys and girls will now benefit from well structured, age-specific coaching programmes. This will have a huge impact on the quality of players that will emerge from these communities in the coming years.”
Forde added, “In partnership with the Government of Guyana and other stakeholders, the GFF intends to roll out the ATC programme across the entire hinterland region in the coming years.”
Acting GFF Technical Director Bryan Joseph has said the new centre in Region 7 would play an instrumental role in the GFF’s aim to “ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to identification and development of our nation’s footballers.
“The ATC will now serve as the hub for identification and development of hinterland talent,” Joseph said. “We look forward to graduating more players into our national teams. Our recent teams have had good representation of hinterland players, with as many as six players in a single team.”
The new academy is also expected to receive great support from Kamarang and Waramadong villages, because most of the school-aged children in the area attend the Desiree Fox Secondary School in Waramadong. The secondary component of the ATC would be mobile within the other Upper Mazaruni communities.
