– Forde eyes December 15 for completion

THE state-of-the-art artificial turf is currently being laid at the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) National Training Centre which will be the country’s first ‘home’ for football.

According to a release from the GFF, the process which begun last Friday, is being done by local contractor, Nabi Construction Inc., under the supervision of international contractor, Greenfields, and is projected to be completed by December 15.

The facility, the GFF stated, will be the focal point for football activity at all levels of the game, and will play a pivotal role in elevating the standard of Guyana’s football, as it caters for football development among the males and females.

The venue will be equipped with female amenities to encourage greater female participation and will house the headquarters of the GFF. Other aspects of the facility will include dormitories, kitchen services, a gym and a pool.

In an invited comment, GFF president Wayne Forde said he is pleased with the progress of work being done, while adding that “the weather has been good and work is progressing very well.”

“The transfer of knowledge that is taking place during this phase of the project will be invaluable as we embark on the construction of similar fields in each of our nine (9) Regional Member Associations (RMAs) over the next three years,” Forde noted.

The vision of the Federation is for the eventual construction of all-weather facilities in each of the 9 RMA.

In a recent exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport, Forde said that “FIFA and Greenfields want us to use the turf as much as possible, so we will organise for the teams preparing for the year-end tournament to have some of their training sessions there.”

Forde explained that apart from the laying of the turf, the first phase will also see the installation of temporary flood lights, since the facility will be integral in the GFF’s plans in 2019 for their national youth programmes.

The GFF’s National Training Centre is the first of its kind under the FIFA Forward Project, formerly the FIFA Goal Project, which will seek to produce, among others, consistent levels of highly competitive and exciting football that will be a force to be reckoned with regionally and on the international scene.

Works on the long-awaited ‘FIFA Forward Programme’ at Providence commenced last September after finally getting the confirmation of the lease of the land earmarked for the facility and subsequent approval by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in June 2017.

During the tenure of the Clinton Urling-led Normalisation Committee (NC), the GFF on May 9, 2015, signed a 30-year lease with the Eccles/Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) for the 8.5-acre Providence Community Centre ground on the East Bank of Demerara.