EMERY Welshman could not have asked for a better start to 2016 football campaign. Last week, the 24-year-old signed with Real Salt Lake FC for this season in the USA’s Major League Soccer. But despite all that he has achieved, nothing beats playing for the ‘Golden Jaguars’. Guyana will compete in the 2016/2017 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Cup tournament, drawn in Group 5 alongside Puerto Rico and Anguilla.
The Scotiabank-sponsored championship will kick off in March (21-29) with all of the countries under the CFU, except Haiti, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, who are all still participating in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Round two of the Championship is scheduled for May and Round three in October. The 5th Place playoff will take place in November and the finals in May 2017. The top four teams will qualify to the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Since their 2018 World Cup qualifier against the ‘Vincy Heat’ (St Vincent and the Grenadines), the Golden Jaguars were dormant and now, head coach Jamaal Shabazz will reassemble his troops to better their 2007 showing at the tournament, where Guyana narrowly missed out on a spot in the semi-final and ultimately the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been together, so I am looking forward to getting back to Guyana and playing with the guys again and representing Guyana,” Welshman said yesterday in an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport.
However, his selection, according the striker, will depend heavily on if Shabazz will have a well-funded Golden Jaguars team by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF); one that will allow him (Shabazz) to put together the best possible team, inclusive of all the overseas-based players.
“It would be great if I was selected for the Caribbean Cup,” Welshman said, while adding, “hopefully the boss (Shabazz) sees me in his plans”,
Welshman pointed out that the drive and passion is always there whenever called upon to ‘roar’ for the Golden Jaguars”
The former Toronto FC forward, shied away from speculating on the composition of the Caribbean Cup squad only stating “I’d like to see all the players involved in competitive matches, with their clubs before qualifiers, so training camp is not entirely based on fitness and more on the football.”
Welshman made five appearances for the Golden Jaguars, all coming last year, scoring three goals; the first being against Barbados in an International Friendly and the others against St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Guyana National Stadium in the World Cup qualifiers.
Real Salt Lake starts the year in the 2015/16 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal Round, opening the schedule in Monterrey, Mexico, against Tigres UANL on Wednesday, February 24, with the return leg at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday, March 2.

By Rawle Toney