By Rawle Toney

WITH just one month to go before Guyana kick off their 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago, president of the Guyana Football Federation (CFF), Wayne Forde is worried that current guidelines set by the National COVID-19 Task Force will be a bugbear for the country’s preparation plans.
Forde, appearing on NCN’s Guyana Today show yesterday, said while football in some parts of the world has returned under strict protocols by FIFA and the respective health officials, locally it’s a contrasting story.

“Absolutely nothing is taking place because nothing can take place until such time that we have the approval and the guidance and protocols from the Ministry of Health and COVID-19 Task Force,” Forde said during an appearance on NCN’s Guyana Today TV show yesterday.
Golden Jaguars were drawn in Group F in the CONCACAF zone of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Qualifier, alongside Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.

According to CONCACAF’s schedule for their leg of the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers, Golden Jaguars are set to travel to Trinidad and Tobago on October 8, where they will kick-off their campaign against the Soca Warriors.

Following their game in the Twin Island Republic, Guyana will return home to play The Bahamas on Tuesday, October 13.
On November 13, Guyana will travel to St Kitts & Nevis for their third game then host Puerto Rico on November 17.
However, while most of the Jaguars’ overseas-based players have returned to action in their respective leagues, local football has been at a standstill since the pandemic in March, or, as ib the case of the GFF Elite League, since March of 2019.

According to Forde, the situation puts his federation at a bothersome position, adding that they will have to engage the National COVID-19 Task Force on how they can proceed, while still observing all protocols.

Forde noted that both the game’s global body, FIFA and CONCACAF are closely monitoring the situation for the participating countries, while revealing that GFF has been providing “constant update to them, so I’m sure in a matter of days we’ll be formerly notified by the decisions of FIFA and CONCACAF that will help to mitigate what we anticipate will be a real problem, if we’re unable to prepare properly.”

In a recent report in Chronicle Sport, Marcio Máximo, Golden Jaguars head coach related that he has been meeting virtually with members of GFF’s technical department, pointing out that along with coach Wilson Toledo and once Government gives the approval for sporting activities to resume, the local staff will immediately start the training.

Guyana’s best performance at a FIFA World Cup qualifier tournament came in the run-up to the 2014 edition, where the Golden Jaguars had reached the penultimate round of the CONCACAF Zone.