Severe weather, track resurfacing affected Leonora pitch – Ramson
Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr.
Last month, after the final whistle blew in an international encounter between Guyana and the Bahamas, there was much talk surrounding the condition of the surface at the National Track and Field Center (NTFC), that was utilized for the match. So much so, that the Head Coach of the Golden Jags, Jamal Shabazz, lambasted the poor quality of the pitch.
Now, a month after Guyana’s current, lone international football ground was shown on the world stage in a deplorable state, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., has spoken on the issue.
In a visit to the West Coast Demerara ((WCD) facility on Wednesday, Ramson Jr. shared a reason for the ground’s state while revealing that work has commenced to rectify such.
The grass is greener on the other side… of controversy.’ A look at the current state of the Leonora pitch.
“Work has already started to commence in relation to that,” Ramson jr. informed media operatives on Wednesday morning.
He went on to reveal, “We had some severe weather conditions in the last six months that has affected all of the facilities in the country. In fact, many grounds, they’re struggling majorly and then also, because we had closed the facility during the time when the resurfacing was happening, that was some of the challenges we were facing. But we’re committed to seeing that we get this part of it up to scratch so that wouldn’t become an issue again.”
Currently, a small sprinkler system has been constructed on the football pitch and while some of the greens are returning, some patches remain.
According to a separate source at the facility, a more permanent sprinkler system and a rolling will go into the restoration work.
In the meantime, while some may believe that the Guyana National Stadium, Providence can be the answer to football’s prayers, the Minister explained why this may not be possible.
“It depends on what are our options. Our preference would be to have it played at the FIFA standard or the FIFA approved location, which we know has been here at Leonora. We had challenges on the first occasion, when we hosted the year-end football because of what had happened in relation to the square, I think that was overblown,” Ramson Jr. explained.
A look at the initial sprinkler system set up at the Leonora pitch
“But because we have a fairly aggressive cricket programme, it takes a lot of time for that to repair. So, I’d prefer the other options that are available to us,” the Sport Minister added.
Following last month’s game, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) was fined by CONCACAF regarding the state of the Leonora pitch. Both the Men’s and Women’s Senior National teams have upcoming international fixtures within the next week, and will have to play their home games outside of Guyana. (Jemima Holmes)
