GUYANA was drawn in Group F of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Under-20 Championship, scheduled to take place November 1-21, at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, USA.

A record 34 CONCACAF Member Associations will participate in the tournament, and, unlike the previous format which included regional qualifiers in the Caribbean and Central America and one final championship, this year’s redesigned competition will ensure that all the participating teams have access to play more top-level football matches.

“If we want to command our respect as a serious football nation in CONCACAF, then we have to play against the best teams in the confederation,” president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde told Chronicle Sport yesterday, highlighting the fact that Guyana were drawn in the group with El Salvador, Guatemala, Curacao and the Cayman Islands; some of CONCACAF’s toughest oppositions.

According to Forde, the Federation is certain that the current players on roster will be able to compete with some of the more established CONCACAF teams.

Forde noted that Guyana’s participation in the tournament is a testimony to the progress made by his Executive Committee, adding “the bulk of the players that will represent Guyana were part of the camp we had in Brazil recently. Also, most of the players are part of the Elite League which is a plus for us right now.”

The GFF president also said, “We have had expression of interest from players overseas, but the bulk of our players will be locally based.”

“The thing is, it has been a challenge to participate in all the competitions (in CONCACAF). Every time we do this (participate), we set ourselves back $8M – $9M; it’s a huge investment, but the only reason we exist is to give these youngsters a chance to showcase themselves on the international stage,” Forde explained.

Asked about preparation, the GFF boss told this publication, “We don’t have a lot of time, but we had expression for International Friendly but there’s a cost attached to that. However, we will try to get at least one Friendly in before the tournament.”

Guyana will open the tournament against Guatemala on November 2, followed by an encounter with Cayman Islands on November 6 then a clash with Curacao on November 8. The Guyanese will close off their group stage against El Salvador on November 10.