THERE are many opportunities abound for Guyana’s female footballers in the ongoing Women’s Division One League, being staged by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) with support from FIFA.

Amongst those opportunities is a golden one presented to several national under-14 players who have thus far, featured for a handful of clubs in the tournament.

Ashante Scott of Monedderlust Football Club, Kellyann Ellis of Den Amstel and Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Leandra Henrito are amongst the under-14 girls who are competing following their semi-final finish in this year’s Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Girls’ U-14 challenge series.

Quizzed about the young girls’ participation in the tournament, which has produced goals thus far, GFF president Wayne Forde expressed that competition at a higher level can be good.

“I think the exposure is great because, you know, any player that is really developing well, if you give them a chance to play one or two years up, you don’t want to take them too far up, and they can compete, they can be safe, because you always have to concern yourself in how the bigger, stronger players can hurt them. If the coaching and technical staff of that team is managing that well and paying attention to it, and the safety of the player remains of utmost importance, then I think it’s a good thing for them,” Forde reasoned.

The GFF Boss went on to share, “I think it’s a further statement of how good these girls are, that they’re able to play in the division one league. So, you know, kudos to them and their parents and their communities, who are certainly supporting them in this undertaking.”

Describing the teen players as ‘gifted’ Forde relished the rapid growth opportunity participation in the League presents.

“Because they’re clearly gifted. They have good quality on the ball. They may not be able to have the same strength and speed as compared to the older girls, but if they are pushing themselves, then their growth will be much faster as compared to if they were only playing at their age level,” he explained.

“So, I think it’s a good thing and I would like to see more of these young women participating. Of course, the logistics, because where some of them live, it’s clearly a challenge, but we are happy to see some of them playing in the Women’s Division One League, and hopefully, the next edition, we can see more of them but I think it’s all positive,” Forde went in to add.

The GFF Women’s Division One League will continue this evening at the National Training Centre (NTC) at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD). Tonight’s first matchup at 18:00hrs will feature Den Amstel FC taking on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) while at 19:00hrs Fruta Conquerors battles the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).