Letter to the Sports Editor – Statement from Otis James, President of Georgetown Football Association on female football

Sep 16, 2023 Letters, Sports

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Dear Sports Editor,

To my fellow Guyanese and Football Fans: As a fan of all things football and an ardent advocate for our Guyanese people, especially our youth, I have anxiously awaited the kickoff to the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup qualifiers. For the first time ever, Guyana will have its Women’s Senior National Team competing. This tournament will allow another pathway for our nation to reach the Olympic and international stage.

Such an accomplishment would serve as a beacon to the world that Guyana has arrived and is fully committed to the growth and prosperityof all members of our society.

As I travel around the country, I readily observe the increased development, resources and opportunity that the country’s newfound wealth has allotted. I am also acutely aware of the many people who have traveled to our lands in an effort to maximize their benefit, sometimes to the exclusion of our native peoples. With that said, I applaud the stakeholders, whether in the private industry, public sector or government, who are working tirelessly to create an equal playing field for all of our Guyanese people.

I offer these observations as a simple metaphor for our national football teams and what I hope the Guyana Football Federation and other organizational stakeholders will commit to, for the betterment of our young men and women whose desire is to honorably represent our nation on a grand scale.

I must admit, I have some trepidation regarding the commitment, specifically of the GFF, in doing its part to put forth the best representation of Guyana Women’s football.

On September 8, 2023, the GFF put forth a press release, announcing the selection of Omar Khan as the new head coach for the Guyana Women’s Senior Team. The timing of this hire is of concern, as the first match for the Lady Jaguars is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20, 2023 against Antigua & Barbuda. That means the GFF’s hire comes a mere 12 days prior to the first match. Will the coach have an opportunity to meet the team? What training strategy and tactics can be incorporated and deployed in such a short space of time? Dare I say, even Jorgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola would find this an insurmountable task! I don’t fault the coach for this, as he, like so many other foreign-based persons are jumping to Guyana because they see the opportunity that awaits here.

With that said, I’ve taken a closer look at the coach and through the press release, the GFF has highlighted two key points that have stood out to me. One, they reference his past training of top-flight players and his possession of a UEFA “A” license. To the laymen, these would seem to be significant attributes. The issue is, when you follow the sport as closely as I do, you know that the players named were likely very young youth players, who the coach was exposed to, far before they reached the academy development stages and long before their current level of athletic prowess. I’m willing to go out on a limb that very few of the named “stars” would actually identify Mr. Khan as a key contributor to their development.

In light of Mr. Khan’s UEFA licensure, I applaud his commitment to self-development within the sport and his desire to develop players through coaching. While wins and losses do not tell the whole story, since the GFF took time to highlight his current employ, I have taken the liberty to further explore his experience and the team he presently leads. Mr. Khan presently coaches is RKSV Spartaan of the Netherlands Football hierarchy. That club plays in the amateur ranks, in the 6^th or 7^th tier/division. At present, they sit around 10^th place, out of 14 teams. Is this really the best that the GFF, Mr. Wayne Forde and Mr. Paul Beresford (Director of GFF Women’s Programmes) could do for our women and the country?

I want to be clear, my goal is not to disparage Mr. Khan and I wish him the best as he takes the helm. My concern is geared to Mr. Forde and members of the GFF for their clear lack of commitment to or women’s teams and their unwillingness to see the grand opportunity that Guyana Football has at this moment.

The GFF brings in a coach that, while a born Guyanese, left at the tender age of four. He has no known ties to the country and has not touched down on Guyana soil in 45 years. While he may now want to get in touch with his roots, who can assure us, or our players, that he will truly be vested in their interest, the country’s interest. The GFF is clearly attempting to pull the wool over our eyes by asserting that due to Mr. Khan’s education, “professional” accomplishments, heritage, national origin, etc, that he is the best fit for this programme. To add insult to injury, the GFF states that the coach, “will be arriving in Guyana soon”. There is no indication that he and his family will be relocating and that he will be made available to train and develop our teams. It appears that he will only be “visiting” on a temporary basis around tournament time, which I remind you, is in two weeks.

This brings up another key issue I have with the GFFs current operations. We are two weeks away from an international tournament. Presently, there has been no mention of a roster of players that will be participating. Generally, there is a preliminary roster due to CONCACAF about 60 days prior to a competition, with a more definite roster due about 30 days prior. If the GFF is organized and a team is prepared to compete, why has there been no announcement so that we can throw our full support behind our team.

We recently had the Women’s World Cup and observed how well teams like Jamaica, Argentina Brazil and others have done, because their football organizations have begun to recognize the importance of greater support to the programmes. It is time that the leadership in the Guyana Football Federation recognize its role, the opportunity before us and the commitment it must now enhance to ensure that our youth teams reach their full potential.

Otis James

GFA President

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• Director, GFA President, Netherlands, Otis James, Women’s Programmes

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