..hopes to assist the UDFA for a return to competitive footballl in the Mining Town
THE Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) is battling to stage competitive football due to some challenges it faces with regards to playing facilities in Linden.

Chronicle Sport spoke with Mr. Wayne Forde, president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on matters relating to concerns of the UDFA, and his take on the way forward.

GC: The UDFA has been plagued without a proper playing facility to develop football in Linden, Region 10 over the past couple of years. The Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) is currently out of commission and this has resulted in the local authorities being seriously handicapped. Is this a concern of the governing GFF and what measures are in place to rescue this situation?

WF: It is always a grave concern whenever a statutory member of the GFF is unable to meet its constitutional obligations to the Clubs, players, officials and fans within their respective jurisdiction. The running and organisation of football competitions at all levels is a fundamental responsibility of Regional Associations (RA) of the GFF and the foundation on which players are developed.

At the moment we are aware that Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) has no proper venue for playing football within the Linden community and we are very concerned about this. Linden is a traditional football community who have produced some distinguished footballers in the past.

While we continue to engage key stakeholders in an attempt to resolve this issue, we have asked the UDFA to identify a venue within their jurisdiction that the GFF would be able to upgrade to a level suitable for the playing of football.

Over the years few players from this region have been able to be permanent fixtures on senior national teams since the exit of stalwarts like Collie Hercules and Charles Pollard to name a few. And the absence of a club to compete in the Elite League suggests this may continue in the immediate future.

GC: Can anything be done to first get football back to a competitive nature and how can the GFF assist?
WF: The GFF is fully aware of the plethora of talented young men and women with the UDFA and continue to provide the Association with tremendous support through the M-FAP programme.

We are providing both financial and material support for competitions, capacity building, etc. The role of the GFF is to support our members; it is the duty of the UDFA to lead the developmental programmes with its jurisdiction.

However, we are aware of how stymied they are by the state of football infrastructure within the region which is badly affecting the staging of competition through which these players progress to the National Team programme. I remain optimistic that, together, we will find a way to mitigate the severe infrastructure challenge in the near future and create more opportunities for our players to play competitive football.

GC: The UDFA has won the recent GFF staged NAMILCO U17 tournament which is a good sign that all is not lost. Is the GFF seeking to provide measures to facilitate such young talents to help the UDFA regain prominence at the senior club level as in the past and not cause these players to move to other regions to develop their talent?

WF: I would like to place on record my congratulations to the UDFA Under-17 Boys on winning the national playoff of the NAMILCO Flower power U-17 Boys league. These boys are the beneficiary of the GFF Academy Training Centre (ATC) programme.

Through the M-FAP programme, the GFF will once again be providing significant support funding for the staging of the 2024 Senior Men’s League. These boys will be able to enjoy significant game time once we are able to resolve the venue challenges quickly, which is the immediate focus of the GFF and the UDFA.

GC: Are you aware that the Linden Synthetic Track at Bayrock has a football field within the track? How best can this be utilised and how soon?
WF: I am aware of this; however this is not a venue under the control of the GFF and I am therefore unable to comment on the details regarding the conditions under which the UDFA may be able to access this state facility.