GFF working overtime for ‘Friendly’ before Nations League resumption

Feb 10, 2023 Sports

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur News – With the Golden Jaguars getting ready to resume action in the CONCACAF Nations League, president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde, said the Federation is working overtime for at least one International Friendly.

Coach Jamaal Shabazz and his men will travel to Hamilton where they will take on Bermuda on March 23, after which the Golden Jaguars will return home to play Montserrat in their final Nations League game on March 27.

FLASH BACK! Omari Glasgow #10 celebrates with teammates of Guyana after scoring against Bermuda on June 7, 2022, at the National Track and Field Centre.

With an ongoing camp with the locally-based talent at the GFF’s National Training Centre, coupled with those based overseas, Coach Shabazz said he’s hoping to have the best possible roster for their two remaining games to give the Golden Jaguars a chance to advance to League A, and also qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

However, Shabazz, in a previous interview with Kaieteur News, said he wanted to see especially the local talent in friendly action.

“I want to see these players. I want to select the best of our boys in Guyana,” Shabazz said, while adding, “Because at the end of the day, I have to face the nation, I have to face the likes of Rawle Toney (Kaieteur News) and Duncan Saul (Stabroek News) …I have to face the people all over the country.”

Forde, when contacted by Kaieteur News yesterday, said the GFF is doing all it possibly can to secure at least one match before the team heads to Bermuda.

GFF president, Wayne Forde

He said the GFF was close to having a non-CONCACAF opposition for the Golden Jaguars, but negotiations fell through.

According to Forde, the GFF is working overtime and is close to securing an opponent from within the Confederation.

Meanwhile, Shabazz said the players will be narrowed down based on their ability to fit into his game model and commitment to the programme.

“The last occasion in my effort to get better quality players into the team, I listened to the players, they all said the right things, but on the pitch, they were not disciplined, and the game model and chemistry were affected,” Shabazz highlighted.

He added, “I think the locally-based players are always in our eyes and always have a bite of the cherry. However, it’s not a foregone conclusion that because they’re here, they’re in,” the candid coach highlighted.

To strike a balance, Shabazz believes mechanisms should be put in place to travel overseas to have a closer look at the talent available in the diaspora, pointing out, “I have a direct responsibility to the people of Guyana, and the support must be there for me to travel and see these players.”

The Golden Jaguars are sitting second in Group B of League B in the CONCACAF Nations League behind an unbeaten Haiti on six points.

The Haitians are at the top of the table on 10 points following back-to-back wins against Guyana (6-2, 6-0) and Montserrat (3 – 2), along with a goalless draw with Bermuda.

Guyana apart from their defeat to the Haitians, had wins over Montserrat (2 – 1) and Bermuda (2-1).

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Golden Jaguars, Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Jamaal Shabazz, National Training Centre, Nations League

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