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Congratulations are in order for the GFF, Lady Jags and Technical Team
By Franklin Wilson
The New Year (2020) which also welcomed the advent of a new decade has kicked off with welcome news for the Guyana Football Federation and the nation by extension with the elevation of the Under-20 ‘Lady Jags’ to the Group Stage of the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship set for February 22 to March 8 in the Dominican Republic.
Head Coach of the ‘Lady Jags’ U-20 Team Ivan Joseph complimenting his charges following their 2-0 win over Bermuda on July 13th last at the Leonora Track and Field Facility, Leonora West Coast Demerara. (Franklin Wilson photo)
A missive from Concacaf sent to the GFF conveyed the information that the Guyanese, which topped Group ‘A’ in Concacaf Qualifying last July here, would now be playing in the Group Stage due to the fact that two of the Confederation’s Member Federations, Costa Rica and Panama will co-host the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, in August of 2020.
The Concacaf Council met and decided that as a result of this FIFA decision, both Costa Rica and Panama would be given automatic berths to the World Cup as host nations. Concacaf would have already been granted three slots at the FIFA World Cup and a fourth was granted which increased its quota of teams to four.
The final two slots to be filled by Concacaf for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup would be decided at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, the two finalists would be given that honour.
Guyana (top ranked team in qualifying Group A) and Saint Kitts and Nevis (top ranked team in qualifying Group B) replaced Costa Rica and Panama for the group stage of the final championship.
This feat was previously achieved by the senior ‘Lady Jags’ back in 2010 when they qualified for the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament which had served as the region’s 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. Those qualifiers took place from October 28 to November 8, 2010 in Cancún, Mexico. Guyana
A section of the crowd cheering on the ‘Lady Jags’ against Saint Lucia at the Leonora Track and Field Facility on July 19, 2019. (Franklin Wilson photo)
had defeated Cuba in home and away playoffs.
Again in 2016, the senior ‘Lady Jags’ made it to another Concacaf finals, this time it was the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship which was another first for Guyana.
They made their debut at this competition on the back of a 2-1 win over regional-power house Jamaica in Caribbean qualifying, ending third in their group with two wins one loss and a draw.
Kudos are in order for Head Coach Ivan Joseph, his Technical staff, Technical Director Ian Greenwood and the GFF for the investment and commitment towards this programme. Those persons in the Diaspora who have contributed must also come in for praise given this accomplishment as well as all the fans who came out to cheer on the ‘Lady Jags’ at Leonora last July.
It’s never an easy undertaking when a decision is made to compete at any level since the financial implications is huge but with results like this, it’s very much wroth the while. What this now means is that the GFF will have to go into overdrive in terms of affording the ladies every possible means to be fully prepared for the task at hand.
Guyana is presently ranked 23 out of 41 nations in Concacaf Women’s football and would be staking a claim for one of the final two slots for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup when they take on fellow Group D nations, Mexico (ranked #2 in Concacaf), Nicaragua (ranked #12) and Puerto Rico (ranked #15).
Concacaf’s #1 ranked team, the USA will play in Group C alongside host nation Dominican Republic (#11), Honduras (#8) and Cuba (#14). Group E has Canada (#3), Jamaica (#6), Guatemala (#9) and El Salvador (#13) while Group F is made up of Haiti (#4), Trinidad & Tobago (#7), Saint Kitts & Nevis (#21) and Cayman Islands (#16).
Coach Joseph, no doubt has already commenced planning along with his technical team on how they intend to counter their opponents come next month when his charges play their first match against Nicaragua on February 23, a huge day for Guyana as it would be Mashramani (Republic Day); this year’s significance being the 50th year since the country became a Republic. A win to kick off proceedings then, would be the perfect gift for the nation setting the tone for World Cup qualification.
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