GFF boss says Gold Cup-deciding game against Belize on schedule notwithstanding General Elections

ON December 21, the entire Nation was ‘taken aback’ with news of the APNU+AFC coalition Government losing a ‘No Confidence’ vote in Parliament, despite having a one-seat majority.

The result meant that the David Granger-led Government could be preparing for General Elections within the next 90 days, according to the country’s constitution, landing it squarely around an important fixture for Guyana’s senior National Men’s football team.

Popularly known as the Golden Jaguars, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) flagship senior team, competing in the ongoing CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers, are one win away from reaching the CONCACAF Gold Cup men’s tournament for the first time in the country’s history (‘Lady Jags’ became the first team from Guyana to reach the CONCACAF Gold Cup, doing so in 2010).

On March 23, 2019 Guyana will host Belize in a game where only a win is needed to see them reaching the Confederation’s marquee tournament and despite the current political situation in Guyana, Wayne Forde, president of the GFF, told Chronicle Sport yesterday that the game presents a perfect opportunity for sports to play a pivotal role in uplifting the spirit of the nation.

Speaking exclusively to Chronicle Sport, Forde made it clear that his Federation remains “politically neutral and will continue to be,” while pointing out that the GFF will only take the concerns of fans and visiting teams if the need arises.

“In fact, I think the game will be good to lift the spirit of the nation. Things can sometime be tense, especially now, but this is a perfect opportunity for football to help lift the nation when we qualify,” the GFF top brass said.

Coach Michael Johnson’s side were given a lifeline from Barbados; the team they faced in the opening game of the 34-team qualification tournament, and drew 2-2.
Though the team had beaten Turks and Caicos 8-0, a 1-2 away loss to French Guiana placed Guyana in a position where it was mathematically improbable for them to reach the CONCACAF showpiece, since only the teams finishing in the top 10 will advance.

Luckily for Guyana, it was later revealed that the Carlisle United and former Bury FC forward Hallam Hope, who had scored both goals against Guyana, did not have the proper clearance from FIFA and the English FA to represent the Land of the Flying Fish.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) revealed that its Disciplinary Committee decided to sanction the Barbados Football Association (BFA), by declaring as a forfeit the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying match played against Guyana, on September 6, 2018.

CONCACAF noted that after due examination of the evidence, the Committee determined that the BFA infringed the applicable articles of the Tournament Regulations and the Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes, in relation to the eligibility of players to play for representative teams by fielding ineligible players Hope and Krystian Pearce.

In accordance with Articles 55 and 31 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the BFA lost the match against Guyana by a score of 3-0.

That result pushed the Guyanese men to 8th position behind Curacao (1), Haiti (2), Cuba (3), Canada (4), Jamaica (5) and Martinique (6) who rounded off the top six teams in the tournament, having picked up full points from their three matches. Bermuda (7th) St Kitts and Nevis (9th) and the Dominican Republic are the other teams in the top ten.

Belize, Guyana’s next opponents, are in 13th position with six points (two wins and a loss) and can crash the party if coach Johnson decides to replicate his November 20 decision to not play the best line-up available as he did against French Guiana.