Mills urges sustained investment in Guyana’s youth football

Vurlon Mills believes the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Youth Ensemble programme is already having a positive impact on the development of young footballers, but says the challenge now is to ensure that the progress continues beyond the competition.
Mills, the founder of Vurlon Mills Football Academy (VMFA), made the observation following his academy’s 4-2 victory over Buxton Stars in the Under-15 final of the Youth Ensemble programme on Sunday at the GFF National Training Centre in Providence.
According to Mills, the structured nature of the competition has allowed young players to receive the regular training and match exposure necessary for their development.
“What I’ve seen over time in this competition is that clubs and teams continue to improve game after game, and again it comes back to now they’ve been able to come into a structured organisation where they can train and play week in, week out,” Mills said.
He added that the attention being given to youth football through the programme has contributed to noticeable improvements among the participating teams.
“Now they’re being given the attention that was needed before and we’ve seen an improvement over time. For us, this gives the club the opportunity to continue along this path, not to go dormant again, and to keep youth football alive in Guyana,” he added.
Despite VMFA securing the championship, Mills was quick to dismiss the notion that his team was clearly superior to Buxton Stars, insisting that the final demonstrated the depth of talent available across the country.
The former Golden Jaguars international shared, “We’ve seen the game today. It finished 4-2, right? I don’t believe that VMFA was clearly the best team. I believe Buxton showed today with the same talent, with the same opportunity, and they played with the same desire to win today and made the game a balanced game.”
For Mills, the bigger question is what happens to these young players after completing youth competitions and whether clubs can provide a clear pathway for their continued development.
“We know that we have the talent across Guyana. For us, how do we continue to develop this talent? Do we find a pathway for continuing development as a club, or do we say forget about the youths now and focus on the seniors?” he questioned.
He stressed that clubs must make a conscious decision to maintain their youth programmes rather than allowing them to become dormant once a particular competition concludes.
“What do we do? Do we continue to develop the youth programme or just forget about them altogether?” Mills asked
He also pointed to Guyana’s recent performances at youth level as evidence of the potential that exists, highlighting the country’s success in the Under-14 category, including qualification and a Tier Two title in the Talent Series.
“We know Guyana have the talent. We’ve seen what happened in the Under-14. We’ve been able to qualify and even win Tier Two in the Talent Series,” he said.
Mills believes the next step must be to create more opportunities for talented youngsters to transition into the national youth structure.
He questioned, “What do we do from then? How do we get more talented players a part of the national structure so that we can keep Guyana on the map when it comes to youth football?”
His comments come at a time when the GFF is seeking to provide young players with more regular, structured and competitive football, with the Youth Ensemble programme serving as an important platform for identifying and developing the next generation of Guyanese footballers.