Ramson Jr pleased with transformation of NTFC pitch
As Guyana get ready for their League ‘A’ debut in the CONCACAF Nation’s League, one lingering question has been whether or not Guyana would be able to host their local matches.
For the past year, Guyana’s home games have been hosted in Barbados, owing to the poor condition and subsequent closure of the football pitch at the National Track and Field Center (NTFC) at Edinburgh, on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD). The use of that pitch had resulted in CONCACAF fining the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) in September last year. However, in the weeks leading up to Guyana’s League ‘A’ debut game, it was confirmed that that game would be hosted in the Land of Many Waters.
Lush green hues are returning to the pitch after rehabilitative work had been done by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr has said he is pleased with the turnaround.
“As you can see, it’s now a really fantastic-looking field. The work that the contractor has done, he’s done fantastic! So, very pleased about what it’s been looking like so far, but we don’t intend to repeat the mistake before,” the Sport Minister shared with media operatives during an event at the NTFC.
The football pitch at the NTFC looks in much better shape than it did one year ago
Quelling any fears of a recurrence of last year’s fiasco, Ramson Jr has disclosed that the Ministry’s new procedures have already ensured a joint inspection of the pitch. He enlightened, “We have implemented a new system, that I outlined before. Which is, before any approval is given, there is going to be a joint inspection. That joint inspection is something that already happened for the upcoming game, but that process has been clearly outlined to the GFF. It is now part of our SOPs. It’s now firmly part of our standard operating procedures, and there will be no deviation from that,” he assured.
Guyana’s Golden Jaguars will take on Suriname this Thursday, September 5th, at the WCD venue. Kickoff is slated for 16:00hrs. The Golden Jaguars squad reads:
Goalkeepers: Quillan Roberts, Kai McKenzie Lyle and Akel Clarke. Defenders: Curtez Kellman, Jalen Jones, Colin Nelson, Terence Vancooten, Leo Lovell, Liam Gordon, Jeremy Garrett, Reis Greenidge and Samuel Cox. Midfielders: Nathan Ferguson, Ryan Hackett, Elliot Bonds, Daniel Wilson, Nathan Moriah Welch, Stephen Duke McKenna and Kadel Daniel. Forwards: Kelsey Benjamin, Osaze De Rosario, Omari Glasgow, Isaiah Jones and Deon Moore. (G6)
