PRESIDENT of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde, and members of the GFF Council conducted a site inspection of the FIFA Arena Mini- Pitch currently under development at Retrieve, Linden, Region 10.
The inspection focused on the completed sub-base construction undertaken by B&J Civil Work,
and forms part of the GFF’s quality assurance process ahead of the formal sign-off of the works.
The Retrieve facility is one of two FIFA Mini-Pitches donated to Guyana under the Global
FIFA Arena initiative, which supports the objectives of FIFA’s Football for Schools (F4S)
programme.
The second pitch has been allocated to the East Coast Demerara Football
Association (ECDFA) and will be installed in Haslington.
The facilities will provide schools, grassroots programmes and communities with greater
access to quality football infrastructure, while supporting the GFF’s Youth Ensemble
Programme, which was introduced earlier this year to expand structured youth development
and increase playing opportunities. To date, more than 4,000 young boys across all nine
Regional Associations have participated in the programme.
Following the inspection, the GFF will proceed with the necessary project sign-off, subject to
the satisfactory verification of the completed works. The FIFA Mini-Pitch construction team is
expected to arrive in Guyana next week to install the specialised playing surface, turf and
associated facilities.
The Retrieve project forms part of a wider infrastructure-development programme being
advanced by the GFF in collaboration with FIFA. Over the next four years, the Federation plans
to facilitate the installation of multiple FIFA Arena Mini-Pitches across each of the GFF’s
Regional Associations, creating a national network of quality facilities for schools, grassroots
football and communities.
GFF President Wayne Forde said the investment reflects the Federation’s strategy of connecting
infrastructure development with structured football programmes.
“We are deliberately pursuing an approach that connects infrastructure with programmes.
Building quality facilities is important but ensuring that young people have structured
opportunities to use them is equally important.
“Through our partnership with FIFA and the Global FIFA Arena initiative, we are expanding
access to quality football infrastructure while strengthening programmes such as Football for
Schools and our Youth Ensemble Programme.
The participation of more than 4,000 young boys this year demonstrates the significant demand that exists for these opportunities.
Our objective is to ensure that young people across Guyana have access to quality facilities,
qualified coaching and regular opportunities to play. This is how we build a stronger foundation
for the future of Guyanese football.”
The GFF will continue to work with FIFA, the Regional Associations, schools, communities
and other stakeholders to ensure that the Mini-Pitches are effectively utilized and integrated
into the Federation’s broader football-development framework. (GFF Press Release)
