GUYANA Football Federation (GFF) president Wayne Forde’s vision to construct a state-of-the-art football complex in the heart of Georgetown is closer to reality.

Forde, visiting One CONCACAF and Caribbean Project Senior Manager Howard McIntosh; GFF First Vice President Brigadier (ret.) Bruce Lovell, and GFF General Secretary Ian Alves, on Monday, inspected the federation’s multi-million-dollar Durban Park Football Complex presently under construction.

Phase One will cost between 18 – 25 million dollars and will involve clearance, levelling, and filling of the land over the next four weeks.

Overall, the complex will be built on just over seven acres of land acquired in 2018 and will house the GFF National Technical Centre, the GFF Football Stadium with a maximum seating capacity for 14,000 fans, mini-pitches for some community grassroot programmes and an administrative office.

Currently, there is no cost attached to the overall project, but Forde indicated they will soon secure a partnership with an international entity for the engineering and design of the project, and he will engage other partners to secure funds to complete the transformational project.

Commenting further on the stadium, the GFF head envisioned that if all goes according to plan, the entire facility could be ready to host international football in four years.

Meanwhile, McInstosh expressed delight with the progress of football in Guyana, noting that collaborations, especially with the government, are vital.

He further highlighted that the conversation upon visiting Guyana has moved from the turmoil of football politics and normalisation committees to facilities and football development.
The hope of McKintosh, should he return in September, is that he could see football on the new field.