GIFTLAND OfficeMax once again threw their full support behind the Guyana national football team Golden Jaguars with a $4.25 million-dollar contract with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), as the team prepares for the CONCACAF Quarterfinal stage of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. Yesterday the deal was made official when Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company, Eon Ramdeo, along with his Marketing Manager Campton Bobb, met with GFF president Franklin Wilson (ag) and General Secretary Noel Adonis at the GFF office.
Wilson opened his remarks by extending the federation’s sincerest gratitude to the company as the first sponsor to come onboard and sign an agreement with the GFF directly related to the Golden Jaguars’ qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
“We made numerous calls prior to now to corporate Guyana to support us and we have received favourable responses during the second-round qualifying competition, but we are more so happy to have Giftland OfficeMax partnering with us for the third round with not just a verbal commitment but commitment in writing,” Wilson said.
The president went on to thank United Kingdom-based Fizal Khan, Director of Marketing for the GFF, who is responsible for nailing down the partnership with Giftland. He said this is just one of Khan’s many moves he is after for the development of football in Guyana.
Wilson disclosed that Khan also made moves to contact numerous Guyanese businessmen in Barbados and other countries.
During the Marketing Manager’s brief remarks, he noted that it is definitely a privilege and a very awesome opportunity for Giftland OfficeMax to be a part of the Golden Jaguars’ quest for World Cup Qualification to which he believes success is attached..
He further stated that it did not take long for the company to decide to come on board as they saw it as an opportunity to assist. Giftland OfficeMax will also benefit from the partnership since they will be one of the main outlets that will have Golden Jaguars replica tops on sale.
Guyana will meet Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador in Group B of the quarterfinal round with their first match against Mexico scheduled for June 8 in Mexico then they face Costa Rica on June 12 at the Guyana National Stadium.
On September 7, Jaguars face El Salvador away then battle them in the return game in Guyana on September 11. They are scheduled to confront Mexico in Guyana on October 12 then Costa Rica on October 16 in the return game in Costa Rica.
A special bank account at Republic Bank was opened for the Golden Jaguars with account number 6515860. Wilson said “accountability is a major thing for us because we want our sponsors to know that their support has gone in the right direction”.
It is no secret that being involved in such a prestigious competition will call for a significant amount of funding to host teams, travel to other countries and consistently keep a team in the preparatory stages. As such, a budget of G$183M, an equivalent of approximately US$880 000 was crafted for the Golden Jaguars’ participation in round three of the qualifiers.
This also includes friendly meetings of formidable opponents such as Grenada, Suriname, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica and even Guatemala with whom negotiations are being made.
According to Wilson, these friendly matches will give the team the much-needed exposure and preparation for them to be successful at the international stage.
Meanwhile, the Under-20 Lady Jaguars were knocked out of the CONCACAF stage with losses to Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago but won 1-0 against Puerto Rico. The GFF congratulated the team even though their participation has ended.
Later this month two female referees will be going to Canada for a Referees Forum ahead of the (female) World Cup; while Mark Rodrigues and Lindon France will be attending a FIFA/CONCACAF conference on Women’s World Cup.