THE Executive Committee of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) met recently and unanimously approved the “go-ahead” for commencement of work on Guyana’s FIFA Goal Project.Under the Normalisation Committee, the GFF and the Eccles/Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) signed an agreement that saw the local governing body for the sport of football get a 30-year lease for the 8.5 acres Providence Community Centre ground.

President of the GFF, Wayne Forde, highlighted the need for the GFF to have a home and one which will aid in the development of the game.

The project will now be sent out for International Tender by FIFA and once the World body identifies a supplier of the artificial turf, work is expected to begin and a timeline of five months of completion has been set from commencement.

This is Guyana’s second attempt at a Goal Project which is funded by FIFA under their development initiatives.

Guyana in 2007 under former president Colin Klass began work at Orangestein, on the East Bank of Essequibo, for what was supposed to be the location for Guyana’s first Goal Project.

When Klass found himself in “hot water” for the “cash for votes” scandal, Franklin Wilson, his vice-president at the time (2013), had assumed the post of president (ag) and travelled to Zurich where negotiations with FIFA’s Development Committee brokered US$500 000 to be allocated to Guyana to help get the ‘Goal Project’ off the ground.

Football in Guyana was in its worst state and for the first time in decades, elections were held and Christopher Matthias was elected president.

Matthias, upon taking office, abandoned the plot of land, already owned by the GFF at Orangestein, stating that the site was too remote and sought further negotiations with the Ministry of Sport for land behind the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora.

Things again didn’t materialise, since the government had offered only a little over three acres of land which FIFA said was a ‘no-no’.

Guyana was actually earmarked by FIFA to pioneer its ‘Goal Project’ with then FIFA President Sepp Blatter making his maiden voyage in 1999 for the turning of the sod at the University of Guyana, but that also fell through after negotiations with the Guyana Government.