− National U-17 team return after Rd 1 of CFU Championships
The National Men’s Under-17 team returned to Guyana following the First Round of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Under-17 tournament held in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) from July 15 to 19, 2016. The team returned on July 20, 2016 and was welcomed by a contingent from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) including President Wayne Forde, General Secretary (ag), Merson Jones and Communications and Public Relations Officer, Debra Francis.
According to a press release for the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Forde offered brief remarks to the team following their arrival. The GFF boss expressed how proud he was of them, thanked them for their service and
Wayne Forde interacting with the technical staff of the Guyana U-17 team upon their arrival at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport
said there are the future of Guyana’s football. “This is a building process; a very careful and deliberate rebuilding process and you are a key component of this process. I want you to lift your heads up high and don’t allow anyone to tell you anything negative about the results. We (the Executive Committee) thought you represented Guyana with distinction. The Executive Committee will do everything within its power to develop you over the next few years to enable you to advance Guyana’s football internationally.” Additionally, he thanked the technical staff for their contribution during the course of the tour.
Head Coach of the National Under-17 team, Anthony Stephens, in presenting his review said, “the guys performed satisfactorily…they gave a good representation of themselves.” He attributed the fitness level (lack of) and inability to convert goal-scoring opportunities despite multiple given to them as contributing to the results achieved. He however remains optimistic about their chances of exceling in the future and encourages them to invest in their personal development – developing their football skills – and urged their respective clubs to establish mechanisms to facilitate the growth/development of the players. Meanwhile, in an invited comment on the way forward, President Forde committed to the development of youth football. “The Executive committee has embarked on the long overdue rebuilding process. This will no doubt be a difficult process but we are confident that in a few years the fruits of our toils will be evident on the field of play. The five-year GFF-NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power year-round U-17 tournament and the Scotia Bank Academy Training Centre are the bed-rock for that imitative,” as was stated in the release. Guyana played three matches in Round 1 of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Under-17 tournament with the following results: MATCH 1: Guyana 1-4 Jamaica (Scorer: Roberto Sewell-Case) MATCH 2: Guyana 1-0 USVI (Scorer: Joshua Ferreira) MATCH 3: Guyana 0-3 Antigua and Barbuda.
