Asks Calvin Roberts
ONCE again, a sports association in this beautiful Land of Many Waters cannot find the necessary funds to send a team to an overseas engagement, after lots of training and preparation leading up to same. What a shame on the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), whose female team tagged The Lady Jaguars have been doing our country proud in recent months and now have to miss the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico because of a lack of funding.
When the GFF opened up its FIFA/FUTSAL coaches training course at the Banks DIH Sports Club, president of the GFF Colin Klass lauded the efforts of the Lady Jags, who have been ensuring the Golden Arrowhead flutters in the wind freely in recent times.
Now the bombshell, having no funds for the said Lady Jaguars to compete at the CAC Games, which would have been a historic achievement for them, is total nonsense and reflects a lackadaisical approach to the world’s most loved sport by the GFF whose executives should have ensured they put the necessary mechanism in place for this team that have been making our country proud in recent times.
For the year, only the Guyana Rifle Association team which returned with the West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council’s short range championship trophy and a few karate teams can boast of having flown the Golden Arrowhead proudly like the Lady Jaguars.
Klass had said Guyana is moving forward in the football fraternity based on the performances of the Lady Jaguars who fought off stiff challenges from Suriname, Guyana’s oldest enemy in the sport, and St Vincent at home, to advance.
It clearly goes to show the thinking capacity of some executives of the numerous sports associations we have here, who select a team for an overseas engagement, then sit back and hope a fairy godmother/father would appear and say go.
Why is it, funding cannot be acquired by some sports associations to send teams overseas? But the GFF has to have a golden-eyed needle in a haystack search if they try to secure funding to send any team overseas.
When the Golden Jaguars were preparing for their 2010 World Cup qualifying matches, they were encamped in Trinidad and Tobago for a period of time, where they were involved in several practice matches against top clubs in the Twin Island Republic .
They went to Suriname and lost 1-0 at the Andre Kamperveen Stadium and on their return home, then technical director Jamaal Shabazz of T&T had the players encamped at the King’s Plaza Hotel (now Mojo’s Nightclub) before the return encounter at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, which they lost 2-1, bringing the dream of Guyana playing a world to an end.
Why the GFF could not place the same priority on the Lady Jaguars, who did exceedingly better than their male counterparts in recent times and ensured they got the opportunity to compete in the CAC Games, treating same with the priority?
It is that level of complacency Dr Frank Anthony spoke about last Friday at the Guyana Pegasus Hotel, while giving brief remarks at the launching of Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira’s book entitled ‘Living my Dreams’.
I ask the GFF, what about the dreams of those women who longed to take the field of play at the CAC Games, to showcase their talent to the world and at the same time, keep the Golden Arrowhead flying high?
What about the dreams of the many other young men and women who sit at home and look at the FIFA World Cup that is presently taking place in South Africa and one day visualise themselves playing for Guyana?
Many times, sports administrators talk about taking the youths off the streets and keeping them away from the ills of society such as gang wars and drugs and while I strongly support such initiatives, its statements such as the ones sent by the GFF that deter the minds of our youths today when it comes to sports.
Some say ‘I will play, but what will happen when I train hard at the club level to gain the national selectors eye, achieve my goal in making a national team and suddenly, they don’t have money to send me?’
It’s time the GFF stop making excuses and start putting their better foot forward.
Numerous business entity came on board with the Golden Jaguars and contributed heavily to their preparations for their world cup return qualifier against Suriname two years ago.
Why can’t they be approached now, taking into consideration the Lady Jaguars are not playing a qualifier for the CAC Games as they have already achieved their spot in the Games and just need to turn up to play?
What about the organising of fund raisers (barbecues or even fish fries) to get the funds to send the team?
Even though they may not have gotten all, at least they would have had a foot in the door when making an application to some corporate entity or the Government for the funds to send the Lady Jaguars.
It’s a slap in the face of the Lady Jaguars, whose tears must be flowing uncontrollably, as a country they would have defeated on their way to qualifying will now be taking their place at the Games, because their governing body cannot find the necessary funds to send them.
What a shame on the Guyana Football Federation and it leaves me to wonder, what next can we expect from them!
To the members of the Lady Jaguars and their technical committee: ‘Keep up the good work and continue to keep the Golden Arrowhead fluttering, even if there is no financing. Sorry, I meant breeze.’