Preparations full steam ahead as Lady Jags ready for Nicaragua clash

After quite a few months without competition, the Senior Women’s National football team, the Lady Jags, will be back in action and on home soil, to boot, next Monday.
Billed for the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC), West Coast Demerara (WCD), the Lady Jags will take on Nicaragua in the first match of their CONCACAF W Qualifiers campaign.
Now well into their preparation, Head Coach Omar Khan discussed the ongoing national team camp and one of his major priorities for the game.
“For this camp we have a lot of staff members on board, got the opportunity from the Federation to expand, not only in numbers but also in quality. So, we have coaches from all around. We’re working on strength and conditioning; we’re working on all phases of play. So far, the camp can’t complain about anything,” Head Coach Khan shared.
The gaffer added, “The aim is also not only winning Monday but also getting the level up in April. So, the team that’s together now, if you come back, I did a good job, we did a good job, staff did a good job, if you can say in April, ‘Hey, they were better than November.’”

On a similar train of thought, London-based forward Otesha Charles described the ongoing camp as a positive environment.
Charles articulated, “The camp so far has been really good. The intensity of training has been amazing. Big, big positive. The coaching staff that we’ve had really allowed us to develop and grow. We’re able to work in smaller groups, focus on attacking, defending; it’s a positive environment, the girls are happy. You know, we’re friends; we’re having a lot of time to bond because it’s a community. So, it’s really nice to have everyone learn from each other.”
“We just need the big win, so this is where it all starts,” Charles continued.
Sharing similar sentiments was local-based forward Lakeisha Pearson, who also made a call for crowd support.
“The camp has been so great. We have a balance of mature and young players. The young players are bringing the energy, the mature players are showing their experience, giving exposure to the younger ones; it’s been awesome. Like Otesha said, the sisterhood in the camp has been great; everyone is bonding really well,” Pearson chimed in.

She turned her attention to the Lady Jags supporters and football fans, saying, “And we’re looking forward to you guys coming out and support on December 1st, the entire Guyana. Come and root for the Lady jags, especially my Linden people, you guys come out and show that support for all of us.”
The Lady Jags’ battle with Nicaragua will kick off at 20:00h local time.
Guyana is in group B of the qualifiers alongside Jamaica, Nicaragua, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda.
The W Qualifiers competition will feature 29 Member Associations – excluding the region’s two highest-ranked nations (the United States and Canada). At the conclusion of the CONCACAF W Qualifiers, the six group winners will join the United States and Canada in next year’s eight-team Concacaf W Championship.
The CONCACAF W Championship will serve as the Confederation’s qualifier for both the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil and the 2028 LA Summer Olympics.