GUYANA’S Jamal Haynes walked away with the Scotiabank Young Player Award at the just concluded 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship which climaxed last Sunday in Bahamas.The 21-year-old Haynes impressed fans, players and officials with a dazzling array of skills and goals.
Guyana’s beach soccer national team, performing at this level for the first time, defeated Belize 4-1 in the group stage and Antigua & Barbuda 6-4 in the placement stage to end 12th out of 16 teams.
Playing up front for most of the tournament, Haynes scored a hat-trick in the win against Antigua & Barbuda, including one of the goals of the tournament – a spectacular overhead kick that soared into the top corner. The goal can be viewed via this link:
In total, Haynes scored six goals.
“It was a nice experience playing against the bigger nations. I feel really pleased knowing that I’ve played against players with a lot of experience and who’ve been to World Cup; so my first-time performance in this tournament was excellent and I’m pleased about it. I am extremely excited collecting the award,” the Linden, Silvertown-based Haynes explained.
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is working to encourage more players to take up beach soccer, and to lay solid foundations for future success in the sport. Other smaller footballing nations have found success on the global stage through the development of beach soccer, including Tahiti, who finished as runners-up in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2015 after hosting the tournament in 2013.
“We are extremely proud of the progress that Jamal and the whole men’s beach soccer squad have made in the Bahamas during this tournament,” said GFF president Wayne Forde. “Jamal saw off a lot of very strong regional competition to win this award and it is deserved recognition for all. Jamal’s performances have been one of the clear highlights of the competition, at the heart of an exciting team that has placed Guyana firmly on the beach soccer map and given us every reason to be very confident about the future.”
GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood said: “Jamal’s personal achievement is remarkable, given the limited exposure this squad has had to beach soccer at this level. It shows the strength of individual talent that exists in Guyana, which we are now working to harness and develop more effectively.
Jamal and the team have improved steadily throughout their preparations and the tournament, and we have a promising platform to build on for the future.”