…encouraging fans to support the Lady Jags

MARIAM El-Masri and Briana De Souza, two of the most prominent members of the ‘Lady Jags’, Guyana’s senior women’s National Team, are optimistic of a successful campaign as they prepare to play host to Barbados, Bermuda and Suriname in Group E of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Caribbean Qualifying tournament at the Leonora Track and Field Centre (May 23 – 27).

Both El-Masri, a forward and De Souza, who play in the defence, have been part of the team that played in the 2010 CONCACAF Gold Cup in Cancun, Mexico, as well as the 2016 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifier tournament in Houston, Texas.

Guyana will open their campaign on Wednesday (May 23) against Bermuda, followed by a clash against rivals, Suriname on May 25, before wrapping up their group E contest against Barbados on May 27. All of Guyana’s games will be played at 19:30 hrs.

“We’re looking good right now. We’ve been preparing well for this tournament and I think we’ll do well,” said the usually soft spoken El-Masri who holds the distinction of scoring Guyana’s first goal at a CONCACAF tournament when she scored one of the two goals in the Lady Jags’ 2–7 loss to Mexico in 2010. Kayla DeSouza (Briana’s older sister) was the other goalscorer for Guyana.

DeSouza referenced the depth in the squad this time around as compared to the other Lady Jags teams over the years, stating “the squad now has a lot of depth and we have much more local players in the team who are all pretty good as well.”

Pressure?

Having played at two CONCACAF tournaments (2010 Gold Cup and 2016 Olympic Qualifiers), El-Masri and DeSouza told Chronicle Sport that they do feel compelled to replicate the performances that made them successful, especially now that they are playing at home for the first time since 2010.

“There’s always going to be some pressure,” DeSouza said, adding “especially since we’re playing at home and people will want to see us win like we’ve been doing over the years in these tournaments, but like I said, we have a good bunch and we will need the support in the stands and we’ll pull it off.”

Guyana’s female national team happens to be the GFF’s most successful senior team, having qualified for two major CONCACAF events while the men’s team are yet to achieve even a Gold Cup berth.

In 2010, the Lady Jags competed at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and World Cup qualifier where they went down 7-2 to eventual runners-up and hosts, Mexico; 8-0 to tournament winners, Canada; and 4-1 to Trinidad and Tobago.

It was their first taste of competition from some of CONCACAF’s biggest names. Kayla De Souza and El-Masri (two goals) were the only two players to find the back of the net at the tournament.
The women’s programme went dormant after their showing in Cancun, Mexico, but were given a revival under the GFF’s Normalisation Committee in 2015 when they qualified for the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifier tournament.

At the tournament hosted in Texas, USA at the BBVA Compass Stadium, Guyana won their first and only game at the CONCACAF level–a 2-1 victory over Guatemala, thanks to a beautiful strike from Alison Heydorn in the 76th minute. El-Masri had scored the equaliser in the 71st minute.

However, Guyana did not advance, since they went down 5-0 to tournament runners-up Canada in their first game, and 5-1 to Trinidad and Tobago in their final showing.

Meanwhile, yesterday, some members of the team visited the corporate office of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) where they were welcomed by Marketing Consultant, Samantha Gooden.

While there, they were given a tour of the facility by Public Relations Officer, Allison Parker, including a walkthrough of the Call Centre. The team mingled with staff and had photo opportunities.