Most important engagement for years

Jun 18, 2008 Sports

– win could provide fillip for sport here

By Rawle Welch
Technical Director of Guyana’s national football team Jamaal Shabazz made two important pronouncements recently following Guyana’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Suriname in their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Paramaribo last Saturday.

First, he asked his strikers to take more shots on goal and second, he urged all Guyanese to come out and support the ‘Golden Jaguars’ for the important return fixture on Sunday, at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

Shabazz, at the helm of Guyana’s football team for the past two years after replacing Brazilian Neider Dos Santos, has already played an integral role in the personal development of most of our national players with the securing of semi-professional contracts in his native land Trinidad and Tobago.

No one could dispute that since his arrival Guyana’s performance in regional tournaments have improved, while many of our players have adopted a more professional attitude towards the sport.

Known for his sharp criticism of officials averse to assisting with the development of the game, Shabazz remarks should serve as a wake up call for not only the lovers of the sport, but more importantly the players.

Football which has been plagued by negative perceptions for a number of years, especially with regards to its management has an excellent chance to erase many of those and to improve its image through qualification to the next round.

It could force many of the critics to view the sport in a different light and instead of sitting on the fence come forward and forge a partnership with the management of the game.

It is indeed unfortunate that the sport received so little support from the business community, but this may be due to the discreet and blasé manner with which the local governing body runs its affairs.

Even the World Cup campaign has been dismally lacking the kind of hype that is usually associated with such an occasion. They have failed to whip up the level of frenzy that could have persuaded the government, business community and lovers of the sport to offer more support for better preparations.

However, this Sunday’s return clash should be viewed as the most important engagement for the team in years; it can present them with the opportunity to reach a level never before attained by this country.

What it simply means that if we defeat our opponents and advance, we could face countries that are rated higher than us in the FIFA rankings which would also offer us the possibility of hosting a minimum of four matches against top quality teams that could serve as a fillip for the sport here.

Apart from on-field preparations, Shabazz, who has acted like a father to the team, must somehow utilise all his persuasive skills to let the players understand how important this game is.

It must be seen as vitally important for Guyana in every sense, as mentioned earlier; it can serve as a boost for the sport both in terms of acceptance and participation and because of these two elements, the team must be made to understand the significance of the game.

It might very well eliminate the difficulty they usually face to obtain approval to get facilities to train; additionally it might even stimulate a discussion to fast-track the proposed building of a multi-purpose stadium.

The effects of advancing are immeasurable and therefore it is this nation’s responsibility to come out in their numbers and rally around the team and ensure that we reach the group stages for the first time.

It is a glorious opportunity presented to us to show that we are one people, one nation with one destiny.