– for third Digicel Caribbean Cup
Following their early exit from the 2010 World Cup football campaign Guyana’s national footballers the Golden Jaguars will be looking to make amends in the third Digicel Caribbean Championships billed to kick off next weekend.
Guyana will host Group ‘B’ of the championship from August 4 -11 with the National Stadium at Providence and the Blairmont Community Centre ground in Berbice identified as the venues for the encounters.
Group ‘B’ will include Guyana’s arch-rival Suriname who booted out the Golden Jaguars from the World Cup preliminaries and another team to be announced by the tournament organizers shortly.
Sources close to the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) disclosed that the national squad is expected to be named this weekend and is likely to feature a number of home based weekend and is likely to feature a number of home based players.
“The squad will be named at the conclusion of a special general meeting of the GFF General Council and the coaching staff of the Golden Jaguars,” the sources said.
Stabroek Sport was told that the meeting will review the Golden Jaguars dismal performance in the World Cup preliminary competition and will be looking to chart a way forward for the national side.There have been calls in certain quarters for the sacking of technical director Trinidadian Jamaal Shabazz but it is likely that he will be retained to coach the side.
Shabazz was at the head of the coaching staff when the Guyanese side played unbeaten in 13 international matches before going out of the Digicel playoffs last year following victories against some of the big names in regional football.
They, however, succumb to nemesis Suriname in their home and away second round tie of the CONCACAF World Cup preliminary competition losing 0-1 to the Surinamese in Paramaribo and 1- 2 at the National stadium at Providence.
The 2008 Digicel Caribbean Championship was launched on Wednesday in Curacao some 25 countries affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) will be divided into nine groups. This year’s finals will be played in Jamaica following five months of competition beginning on July 27 with the Netherlands Antilles hosting Grenada in Group ‘A’ action at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Curacao.
Haiti are the defending champions and they will join Jamaica in the eight-nation playoffs with the winning team expected to cart off $120,000 US plus the championship Trophy. As added incentive the top four teams will represent the region in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
