“No stroll in the park”: Shabazz relishing competitive Elite League Season 7

Story and Photos by Jemima Holmes

Enjoying an unbeaten season in 2024 in their first year back as an Elite League Club, Slingerz Football Club will have one thing on their mind this year: winning it all.

As such, the robust management of the club has been busy in the past few months, securing the services of former Golden Jaguars Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz and a number of international players.
Now, with the pre-season preparation in full swing and having had a chance to look at his troops, Shabazz is quite impressed with their enthusiasm.

“I must say, very excited with the work, the effort by the players, the enthusiasm. You know, some of them probably find I’m a little bit strict, but we want to keep a standard in the training. But thus far, I’m pleased with the effort,” the Slingerz Head Coach exclusively told Guyana Times Sport.

Having watched Slingerz FC in action last season while they were under different management, Shabazz identified a few areas he thought needed tightening.
Shabazz opined, “I thought when I looked at them last season, they could have more discipline in their play. They tended to have a glass jaw, that if things weren’t going too well, they just put their heads down in a couple games, and it made the games tight for them. They don’t have a divine right to win every match, but there needs to be that desire to compete whether the chips down or not and we want to develop that mentality in the team, that we’re going to keep our A face and A game on, no matter the situation in the game.

“That’s what we’re working on in training; it’s a tough thing to instil in a team, a mentality not to play the score but to play the moment,” he added.
Compared to the other teams in the League, Slingerz FC has had the most and probably the only international signings in the January transfer window.
As such, Shabazz touched on the quality of players coming in and the competition he anticipates for spots in the final XI.

“Well, I think even the overseas players coming in will be challenged, because I’m trying to keep a competitive cauldron within the thing that guys are going to be competing all the time, to be on edge and so that we’ll be able to use any player. I don’t want to use players who are injured or players showing misconduct or indiscipline. So, every player on the team will have value and with that value will come a responsibility,” Shabazz divulged.
“I feel Romaine, Bushy and Terique are all very accomplished players and I think they would also help to push the team a bit higher. In saying that, we’ve got to take each game at a time and really take each opponent seriously. One of the things we want to do is establish what is a professional in our approach.”
The Gaffer continued, “In Guyana, while these guys play on different teams, some of these guys are friends in the national team, some of them are friends in futsal, so the gelling of it is normal. I think the challenge will come when the overseas boys come in and the competition for places get a little bit tighter.”
Quizzed about the signings their fiercest rivals completed during the January window, Shabazz relished the thought of having several teams in clear competition for the top spot in the league, opining that it augured well for Guyana’s football.
He said, “When I look at the transfer window, in terms of the people Police have recruited, Western Tigers and even Santos; it is not going to be a stroll in the park for GDF or Slingerz. I think the League will be much more competitive this year, because each team has tried to improve and that augurs well for the coaching staff for these various teams and the ambition that they have.”
“We’re really looking forward to have a really competitive scenario because Guyana football will benefit from a league where at least four teams could be the winner. If you look at the league in Jamaica, it’s very competitive, the league in Trinidad now; we want a league that is like that – very competitive and every week, teams have got to show up and play for their place on the standings,” the Slingerz Head Coach concluded.
The Elite League will kick off on Sunday, March 9, 2025.