FOR the Guyana `Golden Jaguars’ to advance further in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Men’s Caribbean Cup, money is required and at the moment, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is cash-strapped, so, only corporate Guyana or the Government of Guyana can supply the `plaster for the wound’.This is according to GFF’s president, Wayne Forde, who, while addressing media operatives at a recently held press briefing, informed that for every engagement that requires travel, sets the Federation back close to $3.5M.
Forde lamented that “that’s ‘really challenging for us (GFF)”.
He is, however, hopeful that the situation will change over the coming months because of the promise that has been delivered by FIFA president, Gionaqnni Infantino, “but as it is, we’re challenged financially. We don’t want a situation to arise where we cannot go further (in this tournament) because we simply can’t afford it (financially),” the GFF boss stated.
Forde is very optimistic the `Golden Jaguars’ can go very far in the tournament and even win the championship, “but we simply need support to make this happen.”
In underscoring the value of corporate Guyana’s sponsorship, Forde said the `Golden Jaguars’ went through round one of the CFU’s tournament without conceding a single goal, finishing as the best team in their group, not losing any of their three matches in the round.
In the second round of the tournament, Guyana lost 2-5 to Curacao on an artificial turf, a surface unknown or unaccustomed to many of the team’s players, but rebounded to demolish United States Virgin Islands 7-0 on a grass surface.
The victory propelled the `Jags’ to round three which will run from October 3 to 11, with the fifth-place play-off set from November 7 to 15.
The final is scheduled for May 2017.

(Michael DaSilva)