Hackett, Benjamin and Norville to train with Brazil’s Madureira Sports Club

Following an historic visit to Brazil last week, wherein Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President, Wayne Forde, met with Brazilian Football Federation (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol – CBF) President, Rogerio Caboclo, the GFF has declared itself proud to announce that Ryan Hackett of Fruta Conquerors, Kelsey Benjamin of the Georgetown Football Club, and Sese Norville of Milerock FC in Linden will spend one month at Brazilian second-division side Madureira Esporte Clube, where they will undergo pre-season training.
The trio, who have been part of the senior national team, the Golden Jaguars, will be exposed to another level of training over a four-week period, with the possibility of landing a pro-contract based on their performances during the period of exposure.
These three players had participated in the historic Brazil Train-and-Play Camp last August, when the senior national team had spent two weeks in Brazil, and they had played against the said club in a practice match.
In hailing this historic venture, President Forde said this is the first of many such initiatives. He added that the goal of the GFF, which has also presented to CBF President Rogerio Caboclo an MoU aimed at holistic development of the sport on and off the field of play, is to ensure that as many as forty (40) players between the ages of 18 and 22 gain exposure in Brazil over the coming months and years.
“Ideally, we would prefer to have the players enter into the Brazilian Football system much younger; but unfortunately, language challenges, immigration laws and parental consideration are yet to be fully explored,” Forde explained.
Forde also said: “The GFF is very pleased that our work to develop a partnership with our Brazilian neighbours has started to bear fruit. This is a wonderful opportunity for the players ahead of our preparations for the Olympic Under-23 Qualifying Competition in July. I would like to join the rest of Guyana in congratulating these players, and wish them every success whilst in Brazil.”
President Forde, in also offering congratulations to the management of the respective clubs: Milerock FC, Georgetown Football Club and Fruta Conquerors, thanked them for the work they have put into moulding these players; which he opined indicates that these young Guyanese would likely feature in a friendly match Madureira Esporte Clube would play against the Qatar national team on June 9th.
Qatar has been invited, along with Japan, to play in the world’s oldest continental tournament: Copa America, the 46th edition of which will be played in six stadiums across five cities in Brazil. The stadiums are Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo.
The opening of Copa America is set for the Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo, while the final will be held at the Maracaná Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Madureira Esporte Clube was founded on August 8, 1914 as Fidalgo Madureira Atlético Clube; and competed in the Federação Metropolitana de Futebol (Metropolitan Football Federation) state championship in 1939, winning the amateur competition and the Torneio Início, which is disputed by professional players.
Madureira Esporte Clube was founded on October 12, 1971, after Madureira Atlético Clube, Madureira Tênis Clube, and Imperial Basquete Clube fused. The foundation date, again, was determined to be August 8, 1914.
Madureira beat Americano 1–0 on March 29, 2006 in winning the Taça Rio for the first time, and qualifying to play the Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro final against Botafogo. In the final, played on April 2, 2006 and on April 9, 2006, the club was defeated in both legs, finishing as the competition’s runners-up.