Lack of football venues, a crisis in Guyana

Lack of football venues, a crisis in Guyana – Forde

Mar 09, 2024 Sports

Guyana Football Federation, President Wayne Forde

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur Sports – President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde, asserts that the limited access to football pitches in Guyana has reached a crisis level, underscoring the pressing need for enhanced infrastructure for the sport.

“It is nothing short of a crisis,” Forde said at a press conference hosted at the GFF’s Secretariat on Thursday.

“There are very few decent spaces that young men and women can play football without the risk of injuries across the country and you don’t have to look too far to know that’s true,” Forde added.

The GFF’s National Training Centre at Providence remains the only football facility in Region four used for matches in the GFF Elite League, while sub-associations have made use of grounds such as the Number 5 ground, Georgetown Football Club (GFC), the Golden Grove Ground, and the Buxton Community Centre Ground.

Forde lamented, “It troubles us dearly; of course we’re doing what we can but we don’t have the means to do that on a national scale. We will work on the projects that we’ve secured funding from the governing body for. But it is a crisis.”

Drawing attention to Linden, Forde highlighted the challenges faced by the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) in finding suitable facilities, with only the Wisburg Secondary School ground available.

“When you look at Linden at the moment they have two-thirds of a football pitch in a school yard to play every level of football, so that is indicative of where we are and it’s an unfortunate reality,” Forde noted.

The National Budget 2024 has allocated G$4.6 billion for sports development, with $1 billion earmarked for the continuation of ground enhancements.

Minister Charles Ramson described the Ground Enhancement project as “the most extensive initiative the country has ever undertaken.”

Ramson’s Ministry has overseen upgrades to over 250 grounds nationwide, with $1M allocated to support upgrades in 100 hinterland communities.

Currently, 32 community grounds in Georgetown are undergoing upgrades, according to Minister Ramson.

Despite the government’s substantial investment in upgrading grounds across the country, football still struggles to secure suitable facilities for hosting matches.

The Golden Jaguars, Guyana’s senior men’s national team, played only one game in their Nations League campaign in Guyana, with other matches held in St Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.

Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz was forthright in his assessment of the football pitch at the National Track and Field Centre, where Guyana clashed with The Bahamas, securing a 3-2 victory.

Shabazz was dismayed by the deplorable condition of the pitch, the only facility in Guyana deemed suitable for international football.

The GFF had expressed concern over the facility’s state, which has led to hosting some of the Golden Jaguars’ home matches in other countries, including their previous game against Montserrat, played in Barbados.

“I would have preferred to play on another ground, in another country, and give up our home advantage for a good pitch for players to play on. We must think about facilities,” a visibly upset Shabazz said in the aftermath of the team’s win.

“This was a horrible pitch,” Shabazz exclaimed, adding “and I think it solely affected the way we wanted to play. And the job of the player is to play. The job of the coach is to try to create a team that could win and do the best, whose job it is for us to have a proper facility to play,” Shabazz said.

football venues, Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Rawle Toney, Wayne Forde, Young

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