WITH the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) taking a proactive approach towards the development of women’s football, a partnership was brokered with Scotiabank to help in sustainability and longevity of Technical Director Claude Bolton’s proposed Women’s Football Developmental League under his ‘Next Generation Project’. 

The bank’s Marketing Manager Jennifer Cipriani handed over a cheque valued $500 000 to the GFF yesterday and explained her deep interest in women’s football.
“We don’t want to leave the girls out and I think as a woman, we need to give women an equal opportunity in sports in Guyana,” Cipriani said while addressing the media at a Press Conference hosted at the Federation’s headquarters.
She added, “We’re always talking about equal rights and equal opportunities and we need to stop talking and start acting. Our support of the women’s programme is just another manifestation of our willingness to stop talking and to show, and that’s why we’re here to provide tangible support to the women.”
Chairman of the GFF’s Normalisation Committee Clinton Urling showered Cipriani and Scotiabank with praise, stating that their contributions “exemplify your commitment to the women’s development and the game in Guyana and we look forward to more corporate entities to come on board to help build this programme”.
Under the Technical Director’s ‘Next Generation Project’ emphasis will be placed on the younger age groups through the respective youth academies and a two-pronged approach will be taken to revitalise and invigorate the women’s game.
The document further noted that by gathering, recruiting and educating all those involved in the women’s game, a foundation will be laid for the staging of a competition that will focus on the targeted objectives.
The resuscitation of the GFF Women’s Committee will take place and a precursor to that would see a Women’s Workshop and Conference take place to understand the challenges of attracting women to the sport.
The Women’s D-League will allow women back into international competition with the aim of entering an event and qualifying for external tournaments in 2016.
Youth Development Officers (YDO) will be employed to spearhead the spreading of youth development programmes throughout the country thus creating an environment that will nurture responsible, ethical and professional growth.