THE Guyana National Women’s Football team, more popularly known as the ‘Lady Jags’ will this week go into their final stage of preparation for the second round of the 2011 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago  from May 10 to 14. In a release from Programme Director of the Guyana Women’s Football Committee, Colin Baker, it was stated that prior to the Qualifiers, the team will be encamped in Toronto from May 2 before travelling on to Trinidad.
The Lady Jags team consists of a quality blend of Guyanese girls playing in Guyana’s Women’s League, and also at top colleges, universities and clubs in the USA and Canada.
The Technical Director is Mark Rodrigues with a highly competent staff of foreign and local-based personnel in coaches Chris Brown, Ali Tabrizi and Wayne Dover. The physiotherapist is Michele Latimer with Vanessa Dickenson as manager. Programme Director Colin Baker will assist with managerial duties. 
Eighteen players have been identified to travel to Trinidad and 22 players will be encamped with the possibility of another 1-2 new or returning players being added to the travelling team.
The Lady Jags qualified for the second round of World Cup Qualifiers after winning the first round hosted in Guyana last March with victories over Suriname and St Vincent.
In the second round, Guyana will be grouped with Trinidad, Barbados and St Lucia with the top two teams moving onto the CFU final to be held this summer at a yet-to-be-determined location.
The top three teams from the CFU finals will then advance to the Gold Cup Finals in Mexico with the USA, Mexico, Canada, and two Central American teams to be determined, forming a group of eight teams from which the top two will qualify for the World Cup Finals in June 2011 in Germany, and the third place team playing the fifth place team of Europe for the sixteenth and final spot.
In an invited comment from Technical Director Rodrigues, he stated, “We are looking to win the group in Trinidad and prove to all that our programme which started just over a year ago is real. In order to compete with the “big girls”, we have to show that we are undoubtedly the best in the Caribbean.
“We are definitely looking forward to playing the top countries in CONCACAF and the world in USA, Canada and Mexico, but we need to take care of business in the second and third rounds first before looking ahead.”
While in Toronto there will be a presentation to the Business Community with regard to the Lady Jags programme. Speakers at the presentation will be Guyana’s Hon. Consul General to Canada Danny Doobay, president of the Guyana Football Federation Colin Klass, Program Director and president of the Guyana Sports Development Foundation, Colin Baker, and Lady Jags’ Technical Director Mark Rodrigues.
This event will be held at the Delta Toronto East this Friday at 19:00 h. There will also be photo opportunities with the players along with Lady Jags Replica shirts for sale.