The National senior football team (Golden Jaguars) has begun their rebuilding phase and will compete against an Upper Demerara selection this evening at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground in preparation for the Parbo Bier Cup which will be held in Suriname from June 1-8.
The team will be under the supervision of newly appointed National Coach Paul James and, according to James, the squad of 23 players will be brought down to 20 prior to the Suriname run.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport yesterday, James said that the side was now in the rebuilding stage and as such, most of the players would be relatively young.
He added that at present the aim of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) was to build ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 Gold Cup tournaments.
James, looking ahead at tonight’s game at the MSC ground in Linden, said that the squad will be made up of some players whom his coaching staff have some doubts about and as such, it will be a case whereby they would be trying this out.
Nonetheless, they are expecting to come up with nothing short of a win so they can have the right spirit ahead of next week’s Parbo Bier Cup.
The tournament is held once every two years in the Dutch speaking country and features four teams; Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Antigua.
The team will depart Guyana on June 1 and will be in action on June 3, 5 and 7 before returning home on June 9.
James, who will have the assistance of Gavin Browne and Bilaal Nantambu for the tournament in Suriname, is no stranger to the national side.
This is his second stint at the helm of the Golden Jaguars although he has worked as an assistant previously for a few years.
Howard Lowe, Dwayne Jacobs, Philbert Moffat, Dirk Archer, Edison Gomes and Dwight Peters were all prominent members of the previous national side that competed in last year’s World Cup qualifiers and the Digicel Caribbean Cup tournaments and they have found favour again with the national selectors.
The present squad reflects the mandate of the GFF to utilize most of the high calibre players on the local circuit with some players from Berbice who have excelled in the recently concluded Sweet 16 football tournament included.
The full squad in training reads:
Goalkeepers: Shemroy Arthur (Pele), Akeem Clarke (GDF), Richie Richards (Camptown).
Defenders: Howard Lowe (Alpha), Quincy Madramootoo (Alpha), Devon Harris (GDF), Keon Bristol (Cougars), Keron Cameron (GDF), Travis Henry (Monedderlust), Colin Nelson (Western Tigers), Tyson Carmichael (Rosignol) and Reshawn Sandiford (Camptown).
Midfield: Travis Grant (Pele), Emerick Williams (Alpha), Philbert Moffat (Alpha) Sceyon Hope, (Camptown), Glenorvan Edmonds (Santos), Warren Gilkes (GDF), Dwayne Jacobs (Alpha) and Dirk Archer (Pele).
Forwards: Edison Gomes (Alpha), Clive Andries (Buxton United), Peter Parks (GFC), Delroy Deen (B.V Triumph United), Adrian Adams (New Amsterdam United), Dwight Peters (Alpha).