With the aim of revitalizing women’s football in Guyana, the GFF will today start its Inter-Association Women’s League at the Tucville ground with a clash between Lethem and the East Coast of Demerara.
Six of the associations affiliated to the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) (Rupununi, Berbice, Bartica, Linden, Georgetown and East Coast) will participate in the league that fetches a winner’s purse of $125,000, second place $75,000 and third place $50,000.
“This is just the start of what we hope will be a very successful league,” said General Secretary Noel Adonis at a press conference held yesterday at the local governing body’s head office.
“This is a significant achievement for women’s football with the starting of this league and we are certain that it would be success,” he added.
Guyana, like many other countries associated to the sport’s world governing body FIFA, gets a grant of US$50,000 and women’s football development is budgeted but still the Women’s League is the first of its kind.
Asked by Stabroek Sport why only now this is materializing, Adonis stated that the GFF is of the view that this is the right time and nothing happens before its time.
“As you know right now we have the WIN IN CONCACAF WITH CONCACAF Super League playing so the public right now is really into football and so we felt it is the right time for us to inject the Women’s Inter-Association League in the mix. Yes we know this is the first but nothing is before its time,” Adonis said.
A budget for the tournament was not disclosed but the GFF General Secretary said that initially they had included the women’s league into the Super League’s proposal but it was denied by FIFA.
He said that this year, the GFF would be footing the expenses of the leagues which include the prize money, transportation and accommodation since games would be played countrywide.
Adonis said that the GFF is already planning to have a mini international tournament in December where the under-20 females from the USA and Canada will converge here.
“This tournament is important in its own way because come December the ladies would get a chance to match skills with those from the USA and Canada and hopefully we can invite those from Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname as well. So this will give us a chance to see where we are right now,” Adonis noted.
Today’s historic launching was deemed a major development in women’s football by the country’s National Women’s Football Association (NWFA) whose assistant secretary Charmine Wade said that her association is highly appreciative of the league and pledged their fullest support.
