PRESIDENT of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde told the Media on Thursday that the ‘Beautiful Game’ in 2016 was incredible and that 2017 promises more solidifying of the foundation being laid for the sport.“It has been a breathtaking year for football in Guyana and the Federation. We are challenged each day to produce, under very, very challenging circumstances. Football has been played in every Association, at almost every level”, Forde told a media gathering at the Federation’s boardroom.
The football boss in his overview of the GFF’s performance for the year 2016 thanked the media, sponsors, partners and the Secretariat in their support throughout the year while singling out the five-year deal the Federation secured with NAMILCO for youth football:
“The national intra-association NAMILCO U-17 tournament has been ground-breaking achievement for the executive of the GFF. It is the first time in Guyana’s football history that we have secured a sponsorship agreement that extends five years. It is a $30M sponsorship agreement that the GFF and NAMILCO have brokered and we can now rest assured that U-17 League within every association will be played consistently for the next five years,” Forde promised.
Forde cited the vision that the GFF had for changes: “We have a very challenging road ahead of us. There are many fundamental changes that football needs to undergo in order to get to a place of sustainable development, as in the case in any form of construction.
“If you are going to lay a foundation you sometimes have to do some excavating and that can be somewhat disruptive, but in our opinion at the Executive, it is all to better the game over time.”
Forde also gave an insight into the areas of priority which the Federation would be focusing on in the new year.
“In order for Guyana to get to the point where we are delivering, players from the junior level all the way up to the senior level we have to invest in coaching education. We have to invest in facilities, we have to invest in the quality of refereeing, we have to lay good solid foundations and the NAMILCO U-17 tournament is the model we will be using for all youth tournaments.
“Part of the model to be rolled out in 2017 is Youth Development officers being assigned to each association throughout Guyana. The youth officers will be executing and coordinating the Technical Director’s programme in each association. The idea is to have consistent training development in every association,” Forde explained.
The chief of football also told the media that the fate of the four clubs who withdrew from the Elite League now lies in the hands of CONCACAF, while disclosing that on January 2 the Federation will announce the name of the appointed General Secretary of the GFF.